Jack Nicklaus lands $50M triumph as LIV Golf truth | Golf News

Golf icon Jack Nicklaus has triumphed in a $50 million defamation case after a Florida jury decided that his former business associates disseminated deceptive data, damaging his standing.

The 18-time major winner alleged his namesake firm, Nicklaus Companies, falsely acknowledged he had covertly negotiated a $750 million settlement to characterize the LIV Golf League.

Nicklaus, 85, relinquished his government place at the group in 2017, a resolution that occurred a decade following the merger of his prior enterprise, Golden Bear International, with the entity managed by billionaire financier Howard Milstein. The golf icon initiated the legal motion following declarations made by Nicklaus Companies representatives in a earlier New York lawsuit.

In the defamation swimsuit, Nicklaus contended that the defendants implied he was considering accepting a $750 million proposal from the Saudi-funded rival circuit and subsequently circulated those deceptive assertions to news retailers.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the jury decided that Nicklaus Cos. actively participated in disseminating false data that uncovered the 85-year-old to “ridicule, hatred, mistrust or contempt.”

Throughout the trial, which prolonged past two weeks, it emerged that Nicklaus Companies officers had implied that the golf legend lacked the cognitive potential to oversee his business operations and was experiencing dementia. The jury discovered against Nicklaus Companies on both counts; however, it cleared Milstein, who now runs the company, and government Andrew O’Brien of personal legal responsibility.

Legal filings from the six-time Masters champion’s attorneys confirmed that Nicklaus discovered of Golf Saudi’s curiosity in having him take a main position in the rival league during a 2021 assembly, which had been set up with their representatives to focus on designing a golf course in Saudi Arabia. His attorneys assert that a Nicklaus Cos. consultant requested him to meet with Golf Saudi officers.

The court paperwork 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. officers satisfied the three-time Open champion to withdraw from a deal to be part of LIV Golf.

“The fact is no one intervened to save Jack Nicklaus from himself,” Stearns acknowledged. “The fact is, he did not need saving. It’s a lie.”

In a dialog 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 beforehand opened up about the state of affairs in a 2022 interview with the Fire Pit Collective web site, 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’ve to keep with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.'”