Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as the most accomplished professional golfer of all time, winning a total of 18 career major championships while producing 19 second place and 9 third place finishes in major events on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years. Nicklaus did not play that many tournaments because he wanted to focus on the Majors, but is still third on the PGA-tournament winning list, with 73 victories.