Golf icon Jack Nicklaus has triumphed in a $50 million defamation case after a Florida jury determined that his former business associates disseminated misleading information, damaging his standing.
The 18-time major winner alleged his namesake firm, Nicklaus Companies, falsely stated he had covertly negotiated a $750 million agreement to represent the LIV Golf League.
Nicklaus, 85, relinquished his executive position at the organization in 2017, a decision that occurred a decade following the merger of his prior enterprise, Golden Bear International, with the entity controlled by billionaire financier Howard Milstein. The golf icon initiated the legal action following declarations made by Nicklaus Companies representatives in a previous New York lawsuit.
In the defamation suit, Nicklaus contended that the defendants implied he was contemplating accepting a $750 million proposal from the Saudi-funded rival circuit and subsequently circulated those misleading assertions to news outlets.
According to the Palm Beach Post, the jury determined that Nicklaus Cos. actively participated in disseminating false information that exposed the 85-year-old to “ridicule, hatred, mistrust or contempt.”
Throughout the trial, which extended beyond two weeks, it emerged that Nicklaus Companies officials had implied that the golf legend lacked the cognitive ability to oversee his business operations and was experiencing dementia. The jury found against Nicklaus Companies on both counts; however, it cleared Milstein, who now runs the company, and executive Andrew O’Brien of personal liability.
Legal filings from the six-time Masters champion’s attorneys showed that Nicklaus learned of Golf Saudi’s interest in having him take a leading role in the rival league during a 2021 meeting, which had been set up with their representatives to discuss designing a golf course in Saudi Arabia. His attorneys assert that a Nicklaus Cos. representative asked him to meet with Golf Saudi officials.
The court documents state that, “according to Nicklaus, he had no interest in the offer and declined because he felt the PGA Tour was an important part of his legacy, and if the PGA was not in favour of a new league, he did not want to be involved.”
Nicklaus’ attorney Eugene Stearns also told jurors during his closing arguments: “These are the people who planted a story. The story is a lie… what they wanted to create in the minds of the public is that Jack Nicklaus is an old guy who sold out to the Saudis.”
Stearns also disputed claims that Nicklaus Cos. officials convinced the three-time Open champion to withdraw from a deal to join LIV Golf.
“The fact is no one intervened to save Jack Nicklaus from himself,” Stearns stated. “The fact is, he did not need saving. It’s a lie.”
In a conversation with ESPN, he clarified: “I think what was important was the dispute that arose three-and-a-half years ago when the company told the world that Jack was selling out the PGA Tour for the Saudi golf, when it was not true. So, we’re happy that Jack’s been vindicated.”
Nicklaus had previously opened up about the situation in a 2022 interview with the Fire Pit Collective website, revealing, “I was offered something in excess of $100million by the Saudis to do the job, probably similar to the one that Greg [Norman, then LIV Golf chief executive] is doing.
“I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.'”