Palm Beach Atlantic to honor Jack Nicklaus, Grant Horvat

Jack Nicklaus has built a lasting legacy as a golf champion, entrepreneur, course designer and philanthropist. [Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Atlantic University]

Palm Beach Atlantic University will honor golf legend Jack Nicklaus and golf content creator Grant Horvat at this year’s American Free Enterprise Day, a PBA tradition since 1984 that recognizes people whose achievements exemplify the American free enterprise system.

The ceremony is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 11 a.m. in PBA’s Rubin Arena at the Greene Complex in West Palm Beach. Nicklaus will receive the main medal, and Horvat will be honored with the companion medal. The event is free and open to the public. More information is available at pba.edu/AFE.

Nicklaus, an 18-time major champion regarded as one of the greatest golfers in history, has built a business empire well beyond his playing career, including Nicklaus Design, one of the world’s most prolific golf course design firms. He has deep ties to Palm Beach County, where he and his wife, Barbara, have lived for nearly six decades and raised five children. 

Nicklaus and his son Gary this year began redeveloping a long-shuttered private club in the county into NOKOSI: A Nicklaus Family Club.

Horvat, meanwhile, represents a newer, homegrown chapter in golf entrepreneurship. He played NCAA Division II golf for PBA from 2017 to 2021 before building one of the largest independent golf channels on YouTube, where he has amassed more than 1.8 million subscribers through course vlogs, challenge videos and collaborations with touring professionals.

Horvat has expanded into equipment and apparel, holding an equity stake in Takomo Golf and founding Primo Golf Apparel.

American Free Enterprise Day has recognized a range of business and civic leaders since 1984, reflecting PBA’s mission to affirm the values of religious liberty and free enterprise that the university says have shaped American society.

Founded in 1968, Palm Beach Atlantic is a private Christian university offering roughly 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across two campuses in West Palm Beach. Its athletic teams, the Sailfish, compete in 18 NCAA Division II and Sunshine State Conference varsity sports.