US golfing legend Jack Nicklaus has accepted an offer to become an honorary citizen of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, The Courier can exclusively reveal.
The two times St Andrews Open champion, who is fondly known as The Golden Bear, has said he would be “deeply honoured and delighted” to accept the highest honour the “Home of Golf” can bestow.
It’s expected that the 18-times major winner will be presented with the honour at a lavish civic ceremony in St Andrews during the week of the 150th Open Championship in July.
The award will come 17 years after Nicklaus called time on his glittering competitive career at the 2005 Open Championship in St Andrews.
It will also make amends for an “embarrassing episode” involving St Andrews Community Council ahead of the 2005 Open when a motion to make Nicklaus an honorary citizen of St Andrews failed to secure the backing of enough numbers on the council, and was defeated.
Prestigious distinction
John Devlin, a past captain, trustee and life member and president of St Andrews Golf Club told The Courier he was delighted Nicklaus had accepted the offer which now has the support of St Andrews Community Council, Fife Council, St Andrews University, golf clubs and the R&A.
Mr Devlin, 64, who is also a plumber and heating engineer, first approached St Andrews Fife councillor Ann Verner about the prestigious distinction three years ago.
She agreed with him this would be a “great thing” to resurrect ahead of the 150th Open.
With the unanimous backing of St Andrews Community Council secured, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to the postponement of the 150th Open for a year.
This resulted in an approach to Mr Nicklaus being delayed.
More recently, however, the Provost of St Andrews Community Council, Gregory Newman, wrote a letter to Mr Nicklaus, on behalf of the council and the people of St Andrews, making the offer be-known.
In his letter to Nicklaus, Mr Newman said: “Were you to accept this invitation, we, in conjunction with the local golf clubs of St Andrews, would arrange a suitable civic ceremony during the week of the Open, at a time convenient to yourself, for distinguished invited guests and, importantly, members of the general public.
“This would be followed by a procession through the town, accompanied by pipes and drums, and a reception.”
In a reply received in December, Mr Nicklaus said: “Thankyou for your very kind letter and invitation. I am deeply honoured and would be delighted to accept.”
Delight with the response
Mr Devlin, who asked R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers if he could get the invitation direct to Nicklaus’ management team, told The Courier he was delighted with the response.
“In the modern era of golf I think Nicklaus is up there at the very top,” he said.
“St Andrews very rarely does this kind of honour. I know some will say Tiger Woods, also a two times St Andrews Open champion, deserves it. Maybe that’s one for the future.
“But there’s Nicklaus’ connection with St Andrews. He’s twice St Andrews Open champion.
“It’s also the 150th anniversary of the playing of the Open and this is the Home of Golf.
“I think the Home of Golf should be doing something special.”
Councillor Verner said the honour was “huge” for the town.
“We had thought about Freedom of the City first of all,” she said, “but Callum MacLeod, who was chair of the community council at that time went to see (Fife Council chief executive) Steve Grimmond who explained it wasn’t possible.
“When Bobby Jones got freedom of the city in 1958, it was the town council.
“So he came up with the suggestion of honorary citizenship instead.”
Support of St Andrews University
Councillor Verner said she and Mr Devlin recently had a meeting with St Andrews University principal Professor Sally Mapstone.
While final arrangements still had to be worked on behind the scenes, the university had indicated they would be happy for a ceremony to take place at the Younger Hall, coinciding with other university honours scheduled to take place that week.
A University of St Andrews spokesman told The Courier: “Mr Nicklaus is already an honorary graduate of the university, and we were delighted to lend our support to the efforts of the town to honour him in 2022.
“We will of course make the Younger Hall available for the ceremony, and it is our hope that the award of honorary citizenship to Mr Nicklaus will be the centrepiece of a major event at which a number of leading male and female golfers receive honorary degrees from St Andrews.”
The award would echo the Freedom of St Andrews given by St Andrews Town Council in 1958 to Bobby Jones Jnr, the greatest amateur golfer of all time.
The Freedom of St Andrews has also been given to Benjamin Franklin and the Royal Air Force Leuchars base.
Who is Jack Nicklaus?
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jack Nicklaus is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time.
He won 117 professional tournaments in his career, including a record 18 major championships.
A six-time winner of the US Masters, Nicklaus won the 1970 and 1978 Opens at St Andrews. He also triumphed in 1966 at Muirfield.
He was made an honorary member of St Andrews Golf Club in 1978 and awarded an honorary doctorate by St Andrews University in 1984.
In 1990, he was invited to become one of the few honorary members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews.
When he completed his last competitive round of golf at the Open at St Andrews in July 2005, rapturous applause and cheers echoed around the famous venue as spectators showed their love and appreciation for the then 65-year-old.
After hitting his tee shot at the 18th in his second round, Nicklaus received a 10-minute standing ovation from the crowd.
On the 18th fairway, he gave his final farewell to professional golf while standing on the Swilcan Bridge.
He had missed the cut and was bowing out years after his peak, but a birdie on the last hole ensured Nicklaus finished on a high.
Why was Nicklaus ‘snubbed’ in 2005?
In April 2005, local historian, schoolteacher and community councillor Keith McCartney proposed the conferring of honorary citizenship on Jack Nicklaus.
In proposing the honour, Mr McCartney had considered that, with the demise of St Andrews Town Council in 1974, it had not been possible for local people as a whole to honour the achievements of Jack Nicklaus in the sport so closely associated with St Andrews.
It was in 2000 that the community council created two new honours – Honoured Citizen of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, for those who are residents, and Honorary Citizen for non-residents – following a proposal by Mr McCartney.
However, when it went to a secret ballot of St Andrews Community Council members the following month, only 13 of the required 16 votes were secured and the motion defeated, making international headlines.
Amongst the opponents, some considered it should only be given to “somebody who has done something for St Andrews over a long period of time”.
However, local businessman and former chairman Murdo MacDonald, who resigned from the community council over the matter, said it looked like a “snub” to Jack Nicklaus.
The then Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Ted Brocklebank described the 2005 episode as a “farce” with the then community council chairman Donald Macgregor later admitting the whole matter had been “unfortunate” and could have been handled differently.
Later that year, St Andrews Community Council brought in strict new guidelines which aimed to avoid a repeat of what had been labelled a PR disaster.
