Golf News: - Posted 9th November 1997

Nicklaus statue to be erected at Muirfield Village

Dublin, Ohio - A statue honouring Jack Nicklaus is planned to be erected near Muirfield Village before the Solheim Cup matches that take place there next September.

The bronze statue, to be created by Chicago artists Jeffrey Varilla and Anna Koh-Varilla, will show the Nicklaus standing behind a child who is practicing a golf swing. The Nicklaus' figure will be 7-feet tall.

The $165,000 statue will be paid for through the city's hotel-motel tax, said Christy Rosenthal, executive director of the Dublin Arts Council.

Nicklaus and his partners, who created the golf club and adjacent housing subdivision, sparked the building boom that changed the Columbus suburb from a village of 1,000 residents in 1970 to a town of 22,000.

The Solheim Cup matches between the women professionals from the United States and Europe will be played 18th - 20th September 1998.