Long-Time Nicklaus Advisor, PGA Board Member Dies at 83

Larry O'Brien spent a lifetime in sports in the U.S. and Canada, including a five-decade-long relationship with the Golden Bear

Click the image to read Larry O'Brien's article in Nicklaus Magazine about his friendship with Jack Nicklaus. (PDF)

NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Larry O'Brien, one of Jack Nicklaus' longest term executives and a member of the PGA Advisory Board, passed away Friday due to complications from Parkinson's Disease at his home in the company of his family; he was 83.

A native of Montreal, Quebec, and 35-year resident of North Palm Beach, Mr. O'Brien spent the majority of his career working for Jack Nicklaus and the Nicklaus family in a variety of capacities during his 26 years at the company headquarters in North Palm Beach. Serving as Vice President of Public Relations, Mr. O'Brien was the Golden Bear's publicist and media liaison for most of the golf legend's record-setting career. Mr. O'Brien also assisted Nicklaus in starting the Memorial Tournament, the tournament which Nicklaus founded in 1976, hosts annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, and has evolved into to one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour.

But perhaps Mr. O'Brien's most rewarding role was working with Jack and Barbara Nicklaus on a variety of their charitable efforts over the years including the PGA Junior Golf Foundation, Columbus Children's Hospital and the FCA golf ministry.

"Larry was side-by-side with me for the majority of my career and served an important role in my company as well as for my family," said Nicklaus, who first met Mr. O'Brien in 1962. "Larry was a good friend to us, someone we considered one of the family. Barbara and I will miss him dearly and remember him fondly as will so many that knew Larry in and out of golf."

Nicklaus first met Mr. O'Brien after winning the 1962 U.S. Open-the first of his record 18 professional major championship victories-when Mr. O'Brien was luring Nicklaus to play in the Canadian Open, which Mr. O'Brien coordinated for 37 years. Jack and Barbara Nicklaus joined Mr. O'Brien and his wife, Libby, for dinner and a friendship blossomed.

In a letter published in the Summer 2004 issue of NICKLAUS Magazine, Mr. O'Brien wrote about that first dinner:

"When the first course of the meal arrived, I watched nervously as Jack and Barbara stared at the house soup I ordered for them," Mr. O'Brien said. "Trying to play the seasoned host as well as create conversation, I asked Jack how he enjoyed his soup. He didn't say anything, chewed, winced, and wrinkled his face. I said, eWell, does it taste good?' In a line neither I, nor any of our guests that night, will forget, Jack simply looked back at me and said, eNo, it tastes like spearmint.' He then pulled out from the soup a piece of gum, which a cook or busboy had misplaced. I was mortified, but Jack, Barbara, and the rest of the table just laughed."

After Mr. O'Brien moved to Palm Beach in 1970 to work on the PGA Championship, Nicklaus asked Mr. O'Brien a year later to join his newly formed company and handle his public relations and tournament activities with the PGA Tour. Mr. O'Brien served in that role until his retirement in 1997.

"He called me and asked me about where I thought he could find employment in Florida," Nicklaus remembers of 1970. "I said, 'Heck, Larry, I'd love to have you work for me. I need somebody to do my press, public relations, a guy who knows how to handle people, knows his way around the golf game.' He was a wonderful guy."

Prior to moving to Florida and joining Nicklaus, Mr. O'Brien enjoyed a long career in the sports industry. Born January 19, 1922, in Montreal, Mr. O'Brien began a lifelong love affair with the media when he joined the Montreal Star as a reporter covering the police beat and city hall. While working the crime beat in 1946, Mr. O'Brien broke a front-page story about a Russian espionage ring. Mr. O'Brien also did radio broadcasts for the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team in Montreal and regularly threw batting practice. One of his great moments was pitching to rookie Jackie Robinson, who was being groomed for the major leagues, and afterwards helping Robinson and his wife find an apartment in Montreal.

Mr. O'Brien became a familiar name in Canadian radio and television, when he was featured in nightly shows over a 20-year span that soon became one of the most popular programs in the country. With the advent of television, he was tapped to call the very first televised sports event in Canada, a July 25, 1952, Montreal Royals baseball game. Mr. O'Brien went on to broadcast pro football games, including the Grey Cup, and then became part of the television team for the Montreal Canadian during five Stanley Cup Championship seasons.

A consultant to the PGA of America, Doral Open, and the Golf Writers Association of America, Mr. O'Brien was named to the PGA Advisory Board in 1992. In 1999, the PGA launched the PGA Larry O'Brien Scholarship for journalism/communications students at the University of Notre Dame. From 2000 until his death, Mr. O'Brien served on the Board at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., and was a fixture at Spring Training games.

Mr. O'Brien is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Libby), three children, and four grandchildren.

"The most rewarding relationship forged was with Jack," Mr. O'Brien wrote. "After all, Jack Nicklaus is not a person who needed a PR guy. I simply had to try and keep up with all that he accomplished. Besides, when it came to PR, do you think he ever needed anyone more than Barbara?"

"We have shared many other bowls of soup over the years (much of which, Jack will gladly point out I spilled on my tie or on the seats of his plane!)," Mr. O'Brien concluded in his letter. "But we have shared a great deal more, and I have never been more grateful to two people than Jack and Barbara for teaching me what really mattered in life: Our families."

In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, Inc., benefiting the Nicklaus Children's Hospital at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. Donations made "In Memory of Larry O'Brien" can be sent to the Foundation office, 927 45th Street, Suite 206, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33407.

Also, donations in memory of Larry O'Brien can be made to Hospice of Palm Beach County, 5300 East Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407.