Read the letter Jack Nicklaus wrote when he turned pro 56 years ago
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Jack Nicklaus took to twitter on Tuesday to post a letter he wrote 56 years ago to Joseph Day Jr, who was at that time the executive director of the U.S. Golf Association.
Walking down memory lane, Nicklaus shared the letter from this date 56 years ago, which stated his intent to leave the amateur ranks behind and turn professional – although he described that the act of writing the letter had “not been a pleasant chore.”
In the letter, Nicklaus states that his decision has been formed because he would be able to earn more money for his family. He wrote: ‘I have concluded that due to the several sources of income available to me at the professional level, it would be unfair to my family not to accept this new responsibility.’
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He maintained his biggest regret was not being able to defend his US Amateur title, but noted in his twitter post that despite it being a tough decision, he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. The golf community would agree.
Read the full letter below
