In a rare reunion of golf’s greatest players and personalities, Jack Nicklaus will join long-time friends and competitors Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Lee Trevino in an exhibition round Saturday as part of the Insperity Championship, a Champions Tour event being played at The Woodlands Country Club outside of Houston, Texas. The “Big Four” will play in a televised 18-hole scramble format alongside five other senior stars in what is being called a “Greats of Golf” exhibition. Fans can tune in Saturday to watch the friends and friendly competition as it unfolds on the Golf Channel (tape delay) from 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET.
Nicklaus, Palmer and Player will form one threesome in the “Greats of Golf”—teeing off between noon and 12:30 p.m. CDT—while Trevino will partner with David Graham and Gene Littler. The other trio will be Dave Stockton, Miller Barber and Don January.
“I simply don’t play much golf these days, so yes, it could very well be the last time you see all of us tee it up together,” said Nicklaus. “But I don’t look at it as an opportunity to play golf; I look at it as an opportunity to get together with old friends and hopefully have some good fun along the way.”
When you add it up, The Big Four have won a collective 198 PGA Tour events and 50 major championships. Nicklaus leads the pack with a record 18 majors in his storied career, as well as 73 PGA Tour victories. Among those were 10 wins while playing a limited schedule on the Champions Tour—then known as the Senior PGA Tour—including a record eight senior majors.
When it comes to Saturday’s Greats of Golf event, the Golden Bear is open-minded.
“I don’t think anyone, including us, has any grand expectations,” said Nicklaus, who last joined Palmer and Player at the Masters Tournament in the Par 3 Contest and for a tee shot to christen the opening of the tournament. “As I said after we hit the ceremonial tee shots at the Masters: We have a better chance hearing where our drives land than seeing where they land.”
