No matter how supportive his father was, there is no doubt at all that Gary Nicklaus faced an extremely difficult task following in the footsteps of arguably the greatest golfer to have ever lived.
Jack Nicklaus was a seven-time major champion by the time his fourth child Gary was born in January 1969.
It appeared that he had a bright future in the game ahead of him, attending Ohio State University – just like his father. And he went on to turn professional in 1991.
Unfortunately, reaching the highest levels of the game did not come as easily to Nicklaus. He did not make it onto the PGA Tour until the 2000 season.
Nevertheless, it did not take him too long to put himself right in the mix to win on tour.
When Phil Mickelson beat Gary Nicklaus to win the 2000 BellSouth Classic title
The BellSouth Classic had been won by the likes of Tiger Woods in 1998 and David Duval in 1999. Jack Nicklaus also emerged victorious in 1973 when the event was known as the Atlanta Classic.
In the first staging of the event of the new millennium, Gary Nicklaus found himself tied with Phil Mickelson on 11 under par after three rounds.
Because of torrential rain, the final round was cancelled. With that, Nicklaus and Mickelson faced off in a playoff.
And it would prove to be the latter who got the victory as Mickelson made a birdie on the first additional hole.
The contrasting fortunes of Phil Mickelson and Gary Nicklaus after their duel in Atlanta
Unfortunately for Nicklaus, that proved to be as good as it got as a player. The 2000 BellSouth Classic saw the only top 10 he would register in 123 PGA Tour events over the years.
He ended up making just 33 cuts, while his only two appearances in the majors – the 1997 and the 2001 US Opens – ended at the halfway stage.
Mickelson meanwhile, would enjoy further success at the BellSouth Classic. Remarkably, his second victory in 2005 also saw the tournament shortened due to the poor weather. Another playoff was also needed.
His third win one year later was much more emphatic, with Mickelson winning by 13 shots from Jose Maria Olazabal. It was one of the largest winning margins in PGA Tour history.
It also came the week before Mickelson won his second Masters title – 20 years after Jack Nicklaus had stolen the show at Augusta National with the 18th and final major championship victory of his incredible career.