Anytime Jack Nicklaus walks onto a golf course, he can't help but carry his 18 major championships with him.
The greatest golfer ever was in metro Detroit on Monday, and said despite his accomplishments, he only looks forward.
That's because Nicklaus and his wife have a more specific drive in life.
"It's all about kids, as far as we were concerned," Nicklaus said at the Turning Point Invitational in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Detroit Cornerstone Schools invited Nicklaus to play at their annual fundraiser at the Country Club of Detroit, aiming to increase enrollment at the schools from 2,800 to 5,000 in the next three years.
"We always felt like, if there's somebody we can help, or if we ever had the ability to do so, it would be kids. This falls exactly right in line with what we're doing."
The event started with a dinner on Sunday night, and Nicklaus helped raise $3.825 million for Cornerstone schools.
His good friend, fellow golfer Fred Ridley, invited him to Michigan for the outing.
"Fred's been very passionate about what goes on here in Detroit, and what you've done for the kids with Cornerstone. He told me what you're doing, and I said, 'Of course I'll be there. Delighted to be!" Nicklaus said.
The legendary golfer is an Ohio State graduate, and brought up that fact on the first tee.
"I've been around Michigan a lot. Being a Buckeye, you say, 'If you run out of gas do you push your car across the border or do you just fill it up in Michigan?'" he joked, citing longtime Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes.
"I love Michigan," Nicklaus added.
Brad Galli is a sports anchor and reporter at WXYZ Detroit. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradGalli
