This week Jack Nicklaus celebrates the 50th anniversary of his first Masters

A legacy unlike any other in golf began 50 years ago this week when Jack Nicklaus made his first Masters Tournament appearance. At age 19, Jack was selected to the Walker Cup team and that earned him an invitation to the 1959 Masters. He carded rounds of 75-74 to miss the cut; however, just four short years later in 1963, Jack would win the first of his record six green jackets. In 1959, though, the man who would soon become the Golden Bear to the golf world created a wealth of memories he still clings to today.

"Augusta National has always been a special place for me, from the first time I drove up Magnolia Lane in 1959 to my last competitive round in 2005," Nicklaus said. "The people have always treated me with kindness. I remember a lot of wonderful things from 1959--staying in the Crow's Nest, eating so many $2 steaks with Phil Rodgers that they had to start charging us more, and then, of course, the opportunity to play in the Masters. I had my family there, and interestingly that Masters in 1959 was the only time my mother came to Augusta until 1986--when I won my last Masters and final major."