Nicklaus turns 70: Quotes and well-wishes from fellow golfers

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Jack Nicklaus turns 70 today, Jan. 21, and the entire golfing community wishes him a Happy Birthday. Here are just a few of their comments:

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FUZZY ZOELLER: "I wish Jack Nicklaus 70 more great years. What an honor and pleasure it is to know one of greatest, if not the greatest golfers in golf. In my opinion, great golfers are much more than what happens on the course, but also off the golf course. He has been a tremendous ambassador to the game and it's been a real pleasure to know him and have had the opportunity to play with him."

BEN CRENSHAW: "I just want to wish Jack Nicklaus a happy 70th birthday. I first met him in the locker room at Merion during the 1971 U.S. Open when I was still an amateur and we had a nice conversation. He eventually finished second to Lee Trevino in that championship, losing in a playoff. I was fortunate to have played with him many times over the years and he's be nothing but great to all of the players, not just myself. We got to watch him, under a lot of different circumstances, play the game and win. He won in a lot of different conditions, different countries, and to me, he played with more common sense than almost anybody. Yes, he had abundant power but he knew where to use it and how to use it. Jack just had a competitive nature, and his will was just remarkable. It's been great. He has been so great to everybody and has meant so much to our game."

GARY PLAYER: "Over the years, he has been a dear friend to me. He has been one of the greatest ambassadors for golf, not only in the U.S., but worldwide. And what I appreciate, he understood the true value of internationalism. We are a global society, and he continued to play around the world and promote the game of golf. While doing that, he has been a family man and he's got a wonderful wife in Barbara. And, to me, he has been the epitome of golf's necessity, and I would just like to say happy birthday and may you have many more."

NICK PRICE: "First of all, it's hard to believe Jack Nicklaus is ... 70 years old. He has been such a huge part of my golfing life from the first time I read his book and from the first time I played with him. He has been an inspiration to all of my generation and certainly someone who we've looked up to over the years. But you know, what a great man, what a great career, a wonderful husband and father. I mean Jack Nicklaus has to be one of the great sports men of the 20th century."

SCOTT VERPLANK: "Jack was in part of his prime when I was a little kid and he was the man. He still is the man. He's still won more majors than anybody. As a child, I thought, 'Wow, this guy is the best.' Then I got to know him right after I got out of college and then I was lucky enough to play on a couple of Presidents Cup teams with him. Those President Cups teams with him as a captain, they were as important to me as any team deals I've done because he was my idol and I'm getting to be on his team and have dinner with him and talk with him. It was unbelievable. When I was young, I got into the game of golf, but since he was the best player, everybody watches the best player. As a kid, he was the guy you idolized because he was, far and away, the best player. I got to know him a little bit through his kids because Jackie and I competed against each other in college. Jack's always kind of acted like a father figure to me. Obviously, I'm the age of his second-oldest son and he always treated me with great respect. I was still in college and I was paired with him the first round at the Masters when he won in 1986. To me, that's a pretty big deal, winning the tournament at age 46 and I got to play with him the first day. That still means a lot to me."

DAVID TOMS: "I think he is the ultimate professional golfer in that he's raised a big family, he's played great during his career. He's one of the best players, if not the best player, of all time. And then, since he's really been done, he's given back to the game, whether it's charitable works or golf courses he's designed or his affiliation with the Memorial tournament. I think he's given his whole life to golf and it's meant a lot to players like myself and, even, the younger guys. He kind of paved the way for us. I was fortunate to play with him in his last Memorial. I played with him the first two days there, so that was pretty cool. I played for him on Presidents Cup teams and he's a great man as well as a great golfer. We've had a lot of great moments along the way. Probably playing with him at the Memorial tournament, his last one, that's something I'll always remember. Actually, we made a hole-in-one playing with him. I made a hole-in-one on the fourth hole at Muirfield when I was playing with him, so that was a pretty cool memory."

J.P. HAYES: "Jack brought a lot of class and dignity to our sport and much of what we enjoy today is a result of him. He set the standard we all chase and we all pale in comparison. He is the best player and his record proves it. I remember one time when I was a young player and I rode in a courtesy car with him and I was too afraid to say anything to him."

MARK BROOKS: "Jack and Johnny Miller, those are the guys I watched the most. I grew up in Fort Worth. Of course, Jack didn't play a lot in Fort Worth, but when he did, I followed him every hole. As far as his birthday, I hope they have some oxygen there so he can get all 70 candles out because I know he hasn't been walking a whole lot. I wish him all the best and hope he lives another 30 years. He had already gone through his Fat Jack days by the time I was watching, which would've been, probably, around 1972-73, but he was clearly the best player in the world. There's nobody classier than he is, on or off the golf course. I'd put Mr. Nicklaus and Mr. Hogan in the same place. That's it. Nobody else. He and his wife (Barbara) have been overly nice to me. He's a perfect gentleman."

SAM SAUNDERS (Arnold Palmer's grandson): "Mr. Nicklaus means a lot. I've had the pleasure to get to know him personally and I've played with him a decent amount. He's a great man. He's a great ambassador for the game and really carries himself like a gentleman out there. Mr. Nicklaus, obviously, was one of the greatest players ever and I admire the way he was such a grinder out there. I loved watching him play. I've gotten to play with him and the way he grinds over putts, even today, is pretty impressive. He (Arnold Palmer) just told me about a lot of the great battles they've had. He tells me more about the ones that my granddad came out on top of, obviously, than the ones Jack did, but they really enjoyed competing. We played together at Augusta and, a couple years afterward, I hadn't spoken to him or seen him and I won the high school state championship, and he wrote me a personal letter congratulating me on State and I thought that was really impressive that he remembered me and was following my career. It really meant a lot to me."