$50M-worth golf legend sends a message to ‘truly phenomenal’ Barbara Nicklaus amid the Memorial Tournament

South African legendary golfer Gary Player penned down a message for the 2025 Memorial Tournament honoree, Barbara Nicklaus, on social media. On Thursday, the retired golfer shared a picture of Jack Nicklaus's wife and reflected on her work.

Gary Player, who has a net worth of $50 million (via Celebrity Net Worth), called Barbara "simply the best" and called her the "most deserving" for being honored at the tournament. He wrote:

"Many people are fortunate to have good wives, but very few are blessed with someone truly phenomenal. You, Barbara Nicklaus, are simply the best. Of all the individuals ever honored through this tournament, you stand out as the most respected and most deserving. You embody patience, grace, and unwavering love, and in my eyes, there is no greater word in the dictionary than love."

Jack Nicklaus has announced Barbara as the honoree for this week’s Memorial Tournament for her charitable work over the years. Ahead of the start of the tournament, the Nicklaus family was there at the 2025 Memorial Tournament honoree ceremony.

Meanwhile, the event started with the first round on Thursday, May 29, and will have its finale on Sunday, June 1.

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A look into the Memorial Tournament leaderboard

Ben Griffin took the early lead in the game. He played the opening round of 65 to have a two-stroke lead over Collin Morikawa at the Memorial Tournament.

Here's the leaderboard of the 2025 Memorial Tournament after the first round:

• 1. Ben Griffin: -7
• 2. Collin Morikawa: -5
• 3. Max Homa: -4
• T4. Shane Lowry: -3
• T4. Keegan Bradley: -3
• T4. Nick Taylor: -3
• T7. Akshay Bhatia: -2
• T7. Andrew Novak: -2
• T7. Si Woo Kim: -2
• T7. Scottie Scheffler: -2
• T11. Harris English: -1
• T11. Bud Cauley: -1
• T11. Robert MacIntyre: -1
• T14. Rickie Fowler: E
• T14. Tony Finau: E
• T14. Denny McCarthy: E
• T14. Eric Cole: E
• T14. Jordan Spieth: E
• T14. Harry Higgs: E
• T14. Ryan Fox: E
• T14. Tommy Fleetwood: E
• T14. Patrick Cantlay: E
• T23. Austin Eckroat: +1
• T23. Xander Schauffele: +1
• T23. Sungjae Im: +1
• T23. Taylor Pendrith: +1
• T23. Corey Conners: +1
• T23. Tom Hoge: +1
• T23. Mackenzie Hughes: +1
• T23. Jacob Bridgeman: +1
• T31. Alex Noren: +2
• T31. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: +2
• T31. Sahith Theegala: +2
• T31. Viktor Hovland: +2
• T31. Hideki Matsuyama: +2
• T31. Jhonattan Vegas: +2
• T31. Sam Stevens: +2
• T31. Nick Dunlap: +2
• T31. Thomas Detry: +2
• T31. Byeong Hun An: +2
• T31. Sepp Straka: +2
• T31. Russell Henley: +2
• T31. Matt Kuchar: +2
• T44. Brandt Snedeker: +3
• T44. Chris Kirk: +3
• T44. Ludvig Åberg: +3
• T44. Matti Schmid: +3
• T44. Maverick McNealy: +3
• T44. Matthieu Pavon: +3
• T50. Joe Highsmith: +4
• T50. J.J. Spaun: +4
• T50. Adam Hadwin: +4
• T50. Stephan Jaeger: +4
• T50. Ryan Gerard: +4
• T50. Min Woo Lee: +4
• T50. Davis Thompson: +4
• T50. Matt Fitzpatrick: +4
• T50. Sam Burns: +4
• T50. Brian Harman: +4
• T60. J.T. Poston: +5
• T60. Cameron Young: +5
• T62. Justin Rose: +6
• T62. Cam Davis: +6
• T62. Wyndham Clark: +6
• T62. Max Greyserman: +6
• T62. Lucas Glover: +6
• T62. Michael Kim: +6
• T68. Brian Campbell: +7
• T68. Aaron Rai: +7
• T68. Adam Scott: +7
• 71. Justin Thomas: +8
• 72. Daniel Berger: +9