Jack Nicklaus won his first national golf title at age 17. The title was the 1957 National Jaycee Championship, also known as the International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament.
The victory came at the Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio, after Nicklaus had already built a formidable junior record in his home state. He won five consecutive Ohio State Junior titles beginning at age 12 and captured the Ohio Open against professionals at 16, including a spectacular third-round 64.
The Jaycee tournament was a major national junior competition of its era. It required players to advance through local and state events, and its field included many future elite golfers. Nicklaus had narrowly lost the previous year's event in a playoff, making his 1957 victory a notable breakthrough.
This title should not be confused with Nicklaus's later amateur majors. He won his first U.S. Amateur in 1959, the NCAA individual championship in 1961, and his first professional major at the 1962 U.S. Open.