Who is Jack Nicklaus? Friends, family and former foes give us insight into the Golden Bear’s true character

Also a member of the Captains Club, Zinger is moved by how Nicklaus has transitioned so successfully from champion to humanitarian.

“Jack is just the example of how we go through different stages of life, and he has ended up right where you would hope he could end up, which is in full service of others,” he said. “And that’s what has happened to Jack.

“First you’re a kid and you’re growing up and you become a professional at something and you provide for your family. That’s a whole other phase, to be a champion. The next phase for Jack is, ‘Did he want to continue to stay and play the Senior Tour?’ which he did. He became a champion out there.

“And with Barbara’s influence, the two of them together have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help children, and it’s just awesome. You have to be self-serving and self-centered and kind of self-absorbed to get to the place where you get to, and as you wind away from that and hit the next stage … I think Jack exemplifies how we should all end our final run. He’s in a great run, probably the greatest run of his life, and it’s toward the end, because he’s giving all that money to charity. I’m so happy for him. He exemplifies how you want to live your life. I love him.”

Azinger also shared what made Nicklaus such an elite golfer, namely, refusing to settle for short of mastering his craft.

“His knowledge of fishing trumped mine,” he said. “I remember one time talking about trying to catch tarpon on fly, before I realized you could do it, and he had already caught a bunch. It was just one of those things, he was so matter of fact, ‘Oh, yes.’ I thought about that and concluded, ‘He’s got it mastered. He’s going to master whatever it is. Even about fly casting and tarpon, that’s the upper echelon of what tarpon fishing is. He mastered that. I learned that early on, he was cocky about his fishing right out of the gate.”