Several former winners of the event have said the congratulatory handshake with Nicklaus, whose record haul of 18 major titles is three more than second-placed Tiger Woods on the all-time list, is special and one they would never forget.

Nicklaus said on Tuesday he'll be in his familiar spot behind the 18th green on Sunday with his right hand extended to the winner.

"I'm going to shake their hand. I going to walk right out there and shake your hand," said Nicklaus.

"If they don't want to shake my hand, that's fine, I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19, so that's – I wouldn't put anybody in that position.

“If they don't want to shake my hand, that's fine, I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19.” – Jack Nicklaus

"I wouldn't do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn't shake their hands."

The Memorial Tournament was originally supposed to be the first event on the circuit's revamped schedule to have fans present.

But despite getting state approval in mid-June to do so, the PGA Tour decided last week to scrap those plans.

Nicklaus said he would have loved to have had fans present this week to watch a solid field headlined by Woods and the top-five golfers in the world but he understood the decision.

"I think that the Tour probably made the right decision as it relates to the Memorial Tournament. Maybe we are a little too early for the galleries. We didn't have a problem with it," said Nicklaus.

"In the end, the players – you know, you can't have a dance without the dancing girls, and so you just – and I can understand where some might be very hesitant.

"We're probably doing the right thing right now, and we're going to have a good tournament either way."

- Frank Pingue, Reuters