MIAMI — Professional golf legend Jack Nicklaus has won a $50 million verdict in a defamation lawsuit filed in Florida against his former business partners.

A six-person jury in Palm Beach County found Monday that the Nicklaus Companies had damaged the 18-time major champion’s reputation and exposed him to ridicule, hatred, mistrust, distrust or contempt. Nicklaus Companies owner and executive chairman Howard Milstein and executive Andrew O’Brien were also named individually as defendants, but jurors did not find them personally liable.

Eugene Stearns, an attorney for Nicklaus, said Nicklaus has spent his life helping others and earning a reputation as not just a great athlete but a great human being.

“He deserved better than what he got, and we’re pleased that the jury addressed the par

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