Jack Nicklaus' grandson Nick O'Leary, a tight end for Dwyer High in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., ran afoul of the Florida High School Athletic Association for a flash of temper he displayed in the wake of a loss to Glenville High in Cleveland on Monday. O'Leary was suspended two games for making an obscene gesture.
But before condemning him for an act that some would consider the antithesis of how Nicklaus carried himself, consider that Jack, too, once had a temper. There is the story of his having thrown a club after a wayward shot, at which point his father Charlie went straight to him and said, "Young man, that will be the last club I will ever see you throw, or hear of you throwing, or you're not going to be playing this game ever again.''
Nicklaus, of course, became one of the game's most gracious losers in addition to one its most prolific winners.
O'Leary, incidentally, is widely considered one of the best prep tight ends in the country (rivals.com ranks him first at his position). He's 6-4 and 235 pounds and, according to ESPN, is considering scholarship offers from Miami, Florida, Florida State, Alabama and Georgia.
What, no Ohio State? That's another thing Nicklaus might want to talk to him about.
-- John Strege
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