Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer..He is widely considered to be either the greatest or one of the greatest golfers of all time. 

The 1980 PGA Championship was the 62nd PGA Championship, held August 7–10 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Jack Nicklaus won his fifth PGA Championship, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Andy Bean. 

He won 117 professional tournaments in his career. Over a quarter-century, he won a record 18 major championships, three more than second-placed Tiger Woods. Nicklaus focused on the major championships—the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events. 

He competed in 164 major tournaments, more than any other player, and finished with 73 PGA Tour victories, third behind Sam Snead (82) and Woods (82).Nicklaus won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and finished second in the 1960 U.S. Open, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. 

The 1980 US Open victory tied Nicklaus with Walter Hagen, who won five PGA titles in match play competition in the 1920s. This was the third major championship at the East Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1956 and 1968, when Nicklaus was the runner-up to Lee Trevino. 

The U.S. Open later returned in 1989 and the PGA Championship in 2003, 2013, and 2023. The course also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1995. 

It was the 17th of 18 major titles for the 40-year-old Nicklaus, and his second of the year: he won the U.S. Open two months earlier. The previous season in 1979 had been Nicklaus' worst, with no tour wins for the first time in his career. His next and final major title came nearly six years later, at the Masters in 1986.

After 36 holes, Nicklaus was at 139 (−1), a stroke behind leader Gil Morgan. Nicklaus fired a 66 (−4) on Saturday to move to 205 (−5) and a three-shot lead over Lon Hinkle heading into the final round, with Morgan three more back at 211 in third. Nicklaus was as low as six-under for the round through fourteen holes, but struggled on the last four, and alternated bogeys with scrambling pars.

Sunday was less eventful as Hinkle and Morgan fell back and Nicklaus carded a one-under 69 for a runaway win, uncommon for a major.

Since changing to stroke play in 1958, the largest victory margin at the PGA Championship had been four strokes, in 1966 and 1973, the latter also won by Nicklaus. His seven stroke margin in 1980 remained the record until 2012.

Nicklaus became the third to win both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, joining Gene Sarazen (1922) and Ben Hogan (1948).

This was the third major championship at the East Course, which previously hosted the U.S. Open in 1956 and 1968, when Nicklaus was the runner-up to Lee Trevino. The U.S. Open later returned in 1989 and the PGA Championship in 2003, 2013, and 2023. The course also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1995.

Nicklaus turned professional at age 21 in 1961. He earned his first professional victory at the 1962 U.S. Open, defeating Palmer by three shots in a next-day 18-hole playoff and launching a rivalry between the golf superstars. 

In 1966, Nicklaus became the first player to win the Masters Tournament two years running; he also won The Open Championship, becoming at age 26 the youngest player to win all four golf majors. He won another Open Championship in 1970.

Between 1971 and 1980, Nicklaus won nine more major championships, overtook Bobby Jones's record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career grand slams. He won the 1986 Masters, his 18th and final major championship at age 46, the tournament's oldest winner. 

Nicklaus joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) when he became eligible in January 1990, and by April 1996 had won 10 tournaments, including eight major championships despite playing a very limited schedule. 

He continued to play at least some of the four regular Tour majors until 2005 when he made his final appearances at the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

Today, Nicklaus heads Nicklaus Design, one of the world's largest golf course design and construction companies. Nicklaus runs an event on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament, named after the annual honoring it bestows to individuals associated with the game of golf. 

Nicklaus's books vary from instructional to autobiographical, with his Golf My Way considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time; the video of the same name is the best-selling golf instructional to date.

Oak Hill Country Club is a country club in the northeastern United States, located in the Town of Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Founded in 1901, and best known for its East golf course, the club has hosted multiple major championships. 

The club facilities are listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesThe East Course — which hosts the major tournaments — is built around the east branch of Allen Creek, which acts as a lateral hazard on 9 of its 18 holes. 

It has had several changes made over the years, first by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in the early 1960s, later (and more recently for the 1989 Open and 2003 PGA) by Tom Fazio and his design group and finally by Andrew Green who completed a restoration project in 2019.

In 1941, the Rochester Times-Union, a local paper at the time, posted a $5,000 purse which attracted the greatest golfers in the world, including names such as Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, and Ben Hogan. 

This tournament, won by Snead, put Oak Hill on the national golf map. Several prestigious tournaments were held at Oak Hill over the next 78 years, including seven men's major championships – including three U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships, as well as the Ryder Cup.

In 2019, the East Course was ranked 22nd in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.