Nicklaus is a devoted Buckeye, but loyalties tilt toward grandson, Florida State

So how does Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio State man, reconcile his Buckeye allegiance with the fact that his grandson Nick O'Leary is a star tight end at Florida State?

Nicklaus preparing to dot the I for the Ohio State band in 2006 (Getty Images)

A few days ago, Nicklaus, in Southern California to watch O'Leary and Florida State play Oregon in the Rose Bowl, said that should the Buckeyes and Seminoles play for the national championship on Jan. 12, blood wins out.

"If the two of them are fortunate enough to get there, Ohio State will just have to wait until next year when Nick is gone from Florida State, and I'll be back," Nicklaus told Larry Bohannan of the Desert Sun.

It is a position that he has stated before, as recently as a year ago, when it seemed that Ohio State and Florida State were on a collision course. "I'm an Ohio State guy, but blood is thicker than anything else," he said then.

Nicklaus, who dotted the I for the Ohio State marching band in 2006, paid a visit to Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells earlier this week to oversee the construction of its North Course that he has designed.

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