The Memorial Tournament is one of the events that does not appear to have any question mark hanging over it right now, largely due to its connection to Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus designed Muirfield Village, with the golf course opening in 1974. Two years later, it hosted the Memorial Tournament for the very first time.
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The Golden Bear would win the second edition of the event in 1977, while he would triumph again in 1984. Only Tiger Woods and Kenny Perry have won the tournament more often.
Jack Nicklaus explains why he never profited from Muirfield Village
Muirfield Village appears to be one of the most popular stops on the PGA Tour calendar. Nicklaus has used his experience to make sure that the field have absolutely everything they could possibly want available to them.
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But remarkably, the 18-time major champion has made sure that he has never received any money from the golf course.
Nicklaus, of course, was one of the pioneers in the game when it came to pursuing business opportunities.
Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
However, speaking on The Big Swing with Jimmy Roberts, Nicklaus explained why he was adamant that he should not receive any financial rewards from owning Muirfield Village.
“Muirfield was probably the best thing, and I structured Muirfield so I couldn’t make any money,” he said.
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“I was playing professional golf, and I wanted to bring all my guys into play. I didn’t want my fellow professionals to come in and say, ‘Jack’s in here making money off of us’. So I structured it so I couldn’t make any money.
“I’ve never made any money from Muirfield, and I feel good about that. I could bring Arnold in, or I could bring Gary, I could bring Watson or Trevino, or whoever I brought in, and I’d feel very good about saying, ‘guys, I don’t profit from this, this is all about the children’s hospital here in town, and about the Memorial Tournament and bringing golf back to Columbus. Not about me’.
“Maybe I’m crazy, but that’s just what I did.”
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The remarkable number of golf courses Jack Nicklaus has had a hand in designing
Nicklaus and his company have been involved in the design of well over 400 golf courses over the last five decades.
Nicklaus was consulted by Pete Dye over the design of Harbour Town in the late 1960s. Of course, the Hilton Head venue continues to host the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour.
Nearly a decade later, he designed Glen Abbey. It was his first solo venture, and the course has since gone on to host the Canadian Open 30 times.
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Muirfield Village is one of several courses Nicklaus has designed that has since gone on to host either the Ryder Cup or the Solheim Cup.
He was also involved in designing Valhalla and the Centenary course at Gleneagles. So perhaps it is not a surprise that he is quite content with his decision to not financially benefit from owning Muirfield Village.
