Book Description

From Joe Posnanski, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Paterno, Duels in the Sun is the story of the friendship, rivalry, and enduring relationship between golf legends Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, combined winners of twenty-six major championships, whose sparring matches defined the sport for more than a decade.The first time they met, at an exhibition match in 1967, Tom Watson was a seventeen-year-old high school student and Jack Nicklaus, at twenty-seven, was already the greatest golfer in the world. Though they shared some similarities—they were both Midwestern boys who had learned to play at their fathers’ country clubs—they differed in most ways. Nicklaus was known for his skill and confidence; Watson’s game was wild and seemingly uncontrollable. While Nicklaus lacked the charm and theatrics of crowd favorites like Arnold Palmer, Watson already possessed the zeal and energy that endeared him to fans. Tom revered Jack; Jack barely knew who was Tom was. Yet their seemingly divergent paths collided over the next twenty years, when they battled against each other again and again for championships, a place at the top of the sport, and the title of greatest living golfer.Loosely focused on the period from the “Duel in the Sun” at Turnberry in 1977 to Watson’s near-miraculous victory at Turnberry as he approached sixty, and informed by extensive interviews with both players over many years, Duels in the Sun is #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski’s intimate account of the most remarkable rivalry and (eventual) friendship in modern golf.