Ryder Cup | Justin Rose wins the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, the ultimate icon

The Nicklaus-Jacqueline Award is in good hands. Justin Rose. He distinguished himself as golf’s first Olympic champion (in 2016) during the 44th Ryder Cup by establishing himself as a mainstay of the European team and always putting the team first, even after his shot on the 18th hole on day one, when he won and immediately turned around to celebrate with his teammates. .

“Winning this award is a real privilege. This event really pushes you to the limit because there is so much passion. You have to push the limit and get close to it, always staying on the right side and respecting your opponent. (…) Winning this award makes winning the Ryder Cup Most beautiful in my opinion,” sums up Justin Rose as a deserving winner of the Nicklaus-Jacqueline Award.

Justin Rose was a selfless team player, and also served as a spiritual mentor to his companion Robert McIntyre, with whom he spent two days. In his first Ryder Cup, the young Scot was understandably frustrated, but he could rely on Rose’s patience and wisdom to see him through the event. Together they made an important contribution to Europe’s final victory over the United States.

“The Ryder Cup is above all a team effort,” summed up the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award winner. “And even though I hit some ill-timed shots, Robert was able to show that he was steady and consistent so we could keep the momentum going. Together the two men formed a bond that was different from the one between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin after all. Niklaus and Jacqueline were not partners, but opponents.

“Golf is a sport that embraces the values ​​of sportsmanship, integrity and respect,” Ryder Cup director Jay Kennings said recently. To illustrate his point, he couldn’t think of a better example than the gesture that lit up the famous 1969 match between the United States and Europe. On that day, the two men were writing an entire page in the history of the Ryder Cup, golf and even sports in general.

A gesture that has become so iconic, known in English as “the concession,” it is so symbolic of the values ​​of fair play promoted by golf that it has received an honorary title: the Nicklaus-Jacqueline Award.

Back to 1969: The United States and Europe competed in the 18th edition of the tournament, held at Royal Birkdale in Lancashire, England. The American team included a rookie who was nonetheless considered the best player of his era: Jack Nicklaus.

The man nicknamed the “Golden Bear” had already won seven major titles, but under current rules, he could only be selected for the US team after spending five seasons on the professional circuit. In his Ryder Cup debut, the Ohio native is ready to make his mark. And not just with a golf club in hand.

The setup is perfect, because the Americans and Europeans have been at each other’s throats since the beginning of the Ryder Cup. It all goes back to the last song on the final day. Niklaus confronts Jacqueline. Jacqueline had already defeated his rival that morning. But this time the battle was more exciting and both men had to decide the winner on the eighteenth and final hole.

The tension was high on the green, with spectators and players holding their breath. Jack Nicklaus, a natural opponent, did not give in to the pressure and hit his final shot, a four-foot putt. For his part, Tony Jacklin had to face the same challenge, but from a distance of 60cm, to equalise.

Will the Englishman’s arm shake? We’ll never know, because then the unthinkable happened: Nicklaus walked up to Jacqueline’s ball and caught it, marking the end of the game and the final tie between the two teams!

An amazing gesture of absolute class. “I don’t think you were going to pass up the opportunity, Tony, but I didn’t want to give you a chance,” Nicklaus says. This famous “franchise” marked the first draw in Ryder Cup history in the most beautiful way. .

In addition to the sporting score, it was of course the chivalrous attitude of Jack Nicklaus that set this version apart. The American has just shown that it is possible to be a ferocious fighter and at the same time go beyond the rules to advance his sport.

“This gesture will connect us forever,” Nicklaus recalled in an interview with Jacqueen. “It’s just camaraderie, it’s trying to do the right thing at the right time,” he adds modestly.

“When you gave me that point, you showed the world that sportsmanship is just as important as winning,” an emotional Tony Jacklin told The American. “I am proud that this franchise has become a legacy and that its spirit lives on through the Nicklaus Jacklin Award.”