Jack Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion, has won a $50m verdict in a defamation case against his former company, bringing an end to one of golf\u2019s most bitter business feuds.<\/p>\n
A jury in Palm Beach County, Florida, found that Nicklaus Companies \u2013 the firm he founded and later sold \u2013 defamed him by spreading false claims that he had considered a $750m offer to become a public face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf<\/a> League and that he was no longer mentally fit to manage his business affairs. The six-person jury ruled that the company\u2019s actions damaged the 85-year-old\u2019s reputation and exposed him to \u201cridicule, hatred, mistrust, distrust or contempt\u201d.<\/p>\n The verdict came after four and a half hours of deliberation. Nicklaus embraced family and friends in the courtroom after the decision. \u201cWe tremendously appreciate the time that the jury put into this case,\u201d said his attorney, Eugene Stearns. \u201cThey were extraordinarily conscientious and dedicated, and we\u2019re happy that Jack\u2019s been vindicated.\u201d<\/p>\n The dispute dates back nearly two decades. In 2007, Nicklaus sold the rights to his name, image and golf course design business to Nicklaus Companies for $145m in a deal financed by billionaire banker Howard Milstein. After stepping down from an executive role in 2017, Nicklaus was bound by a five-year noncompete clause that prevented him from taking on new design projects. When that restriction expired in 2022, the company sued him in New York, alleging that he had diverted business opportunities and secretly entertained talks with LIV Golf.<\/p>\n Nicklaus responded with a defamation suit of his own, accusing Milstein and other executives of planting false stories that he had \u201csold out\u201d the PGA Tour<\/a> \u2013 an organization he considered central to his legacy \u2013 for Saudi money. According to court documents, a Nicklaus Companies official had arranged for him to meet with Golf Saudi representatives in 2021 to discuss course design work. During that meeting, Nicklaus said, he was asked to take a leadership role with LIV Golf but immediately declined because of the PGA Tour\u2019s opposition to the breakaway league.<\/p>\n The lawsuit also accused the company of circulating rumors that Nicklaus was suffering from dementia and could no longer handle his affairs. \u201cWhat they said was, \u2018You need to have the keys taken away,\u2019\u201d Stearns told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cIt was unfortunate, but Jack\u2019s reputation has now been restored.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawyers for Nicklaus Companies argued that the case was simply a business dispute and that Nicklaus\u2019s stature in the game remained untarnished. \u201cHis reputation is as stellar as it\u2019s always been,\u201d defense attorney Barry Postman told jurors. But the jury sided with Nicklaus, though Milstein and company executive Andrew O\u2019Brien were cleared of personal liability.<\/p>\n