The Jack Nicklaus Story - Part 3 The Legend Continues (PBP) 6-3-86THS PALM Br-ACH
JUNW 3) 1 C1 6
Masters
Ar
victory brought
back the
golden times for Nicklaus
0 Charting Nicklaus' standing, 5C
By Craig Dolch
Staff Triter
The elderly woman acted as if she had just seen a
long -lost friend as she made her way to the table where
the blond man was seated. Maybe she had.
"I just want to thank you for what you did last
month," she said. "I'm 70 years old and I've never
before played golf. But after watching you win that
tournament, I'm now playing golf every day and I've
never felt younger."
Jack Nicklaus grinned. The incident, however
corny, tugged on his heart. And why shouldn't it?
These are golden times for Jack William Nick-
laus, arguably the best golfer in history. And the above
scene, which took place recently at a restaurant in
Pinehurst, N.C., could, and does, happen at any time
and in any town.
It's been that way ever since Nicklaus thrilled the
nation and gave professional golf a needed shot in the
people," Nicklaus said. "It's just like it happened
yesterday. I'm amazed that this affected so many
people outside of golf to the degree that .it has,"
Stature guaranteed long ago
Jack Nicklaus didn't need to win the Masters at
age 46. His stature in golf has long since been guaran-
teed. But there he was, charging down the stretch, just
like the Nicklaus of old, giving another generation of
fans something to remember him by.
It was a fitting tournament finish in a career that
needs no more exclamation points.
"To be remembered for the Masters wouldn't be
bad," said Nicklaus, shrugging his broad shoulders.
To focus on just one victory in his wondrous, 25 -
year professional career might seem an injustice. Yet
his come -from -behind triumph had all the elements
that has made Nicklaus the king of the golf empire.
To begin with, there was his patience. Counted out
like a fallen boxer, Nicklaus came off the ropes with a
series of knockout punches over Augusta National's
final 10 holes. While several golfers ahead of Nicklaus
The Legend
Continues. . . . . . . . . . .
arm by winning his sixth Masters title in April. Every- -
where he goes, Nicklaus is mobbed by fans, many of
whom don't know a bunker f rom a bogey. At his
Memorial Tournament two weeks ago, for instance,
play was delayed for almost five minutes because of a
Nicklaus ovation.
And this took place on the first tee, before he had
even swung a club.
"I'm amazed at the reaction I've received from
were just going through the motions, conceding defeat,
he realized the leaders usually back up during the final
holes of a major championship.
"I just kept my composure," Nicklaus said, "be-
cause I knew that the other guys playing behind me
were probably going -to have trouble coming in."
And when they did, he was ready. Playing five
under on the f final six holes, Nicklaus charged past a
cast of players that should be included in a Who's Who
of golf — Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Greg Nor-
man, Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer, to name a few.
Second, there was his precise memory that he
drew upon at critical times. On an eagle putt on the
15th hole, for instance, he remembered having the
same putt years ago and missing it to the left. This
time, Nicklaus made the adjustment — and the putt.
Finally, there was his uncanny ability to grab the
victory once it was within reach. Once Nicklaus is in
position to win, he usually does. He doesn't have a
reason f or this. nor does he need one.
Turn to NICKLAUS, 5C
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACFI
HISTORIAN
The Legend
Continues
Disproving the whispers
The groundwork for Nicklaus'
unexpected, masterful perfor-
mance might have been laid
through the whispers going around
the PGA Tour that, "Nicklaus is
finished." A few of the pros said
they no longer feared the man who
has won more money ($4.85 mil-
lion) and more major champion-
ships (20) than anyone else.
It was a big mistake.
"Jack loves to prove you wrong,"
Jack Grout, the only teacher Nick-
laus has had, said recently. "As
soon as you say he can't, he will."
And he did it with an oversized
putter and an oversized heart. In
saving perhaps his most amazing
win for last, Nicklaus may have
already secured another Sports Il -
1 ustra ted Sportsman of the Year
award.
There is the tendency to think his
Masters victory might push Nick-
laus into bigger and better things.
Don't count on it. While he is cer-
tainly preparing as hard as ever for
the U.S. Open in two weeks at Shin-
necock Hills in Southampton, N.Y.
— "There's only one player left
that can win the Grand Slam, and
that's me," he said — don't think
for a minute that Nicklaus is think-
ing about expanding his playing
schedule.
He won't. The Masters victory, in
f act, has made it easier for him to
walk away from the sport, now that
he's back on top. He wasn't relish-
ing making an exit of ter not win-
ning a tournament in two years and
a major in six.
"What the Masters victory did
was allow me to go out the way I
wanted to go out," he said. "There's
just no way in the world I was going
to end my career the way I was
playing. Not after I had played so
well f or so long.
"If I had cut back on my schedule
the way I was playing, people
would have said, `Well, Jack can't
hack it anymore, so he's just going
to stop playing.' That would be the
natural reaction. It would be my
reaction, too. It would have been
sour in my own mind."
jjx:>
Accomplishments hard to beat
Hitting the big 2 -oh in major
championships made the struggle
of the past few years seem all the
sweeter. Certainly there will come
a day when Nicklaus is passed as
the most prolific earner in golf his-
tory; the mushrooming of tourna-
ment purses make that inevitable.
But, despite his predictions to the
contrary, there may never be an-
other golfer who has the stamina,
ability and determination to stay in
the game long enough to win more
than 20 majors.
"It ma -y not happen in the near
future, but I think it will happen,"
he said. "Someday, someone will
come along and do it. Records are
made to be broken."
Don't think Nicklaus is about to
lock away his interlocking grip for
good. Even if he said he was, time
would probably prove him other-
wise. Gary Player can remember
hearing Nicklaus say in the 1960s
that he would never compete past
his mid-30s.
"I knew he was crazy," Player
said, smiling. "There's just no way
he was going to quit at that age,
knowing the competitive nature of
Jack Nicklaus. I imagine he'll be
around a lot longer than any of us
thinks."
May never retire
Nicklaus agreed. Well, sort of.
Because of the nature of this sport
-- not to mention- his own — Nick-
laus doesn't see a day in the future
when he will ever "retire."
"A writer was telling me the oth-
er day that it's not important what
I shoot anymore," Nicklaus said.
"What's important is that there are
a lot of young people today who
have never seen me play. They may
not see me play in my prime, but at
least they'll see me play.
"I think that's important, too.
That's why I don't think I'll ever
retire. I'll probably always stay
somewhat in the game, but on a
lesser level."
There has been a movement to
make his Memorial Tournament a
memorial to Nicklaus when his
playing days are over. The question
is, when will that be?
pAgra z
It's significant to note that Nick-
laus had almost completed his final
autobiography last year when he
abruptly delayed the presses.
"We were about four-fifths done,
but Jack told us to stop," said Ken
Bowden, who is ghostwriting the
book. "Jack said he just wasn't fin-
ished. As it turns out, with him
winning another Masters, it's a
good thing we did stop it. My guess
is the book will be completed in
about two to three years."
Only time will tell if the final
chapter has been written on Jack
Nicklaus.
"Maybe I won't be as competi-
tive as I once was, but like at Au-
gusta, I'll be occasionally competi-
tive and that's really all the public
expects of me right now," Nicklaus
said. "If, I occasionally have some-
thing happen like the Masters, or
even be close, that would be all that
people could expect of me past 46."
People have come to expect the
unexpected from Jack Nicklaus.
Long before that special Sunday
afternoon in April.
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
HISTORIAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRF.` 7)
1985 winner Bernhard Langer watches Nicklaus try on the green jacket at the Masters
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH
HISTORIAN
PRgE 3
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OF NORTH PALM BFJ
HISTORIAN
Nicklaus through the years
At age 16 in 1956
. . . winner of the Ohio Open
At age 19 in 1959 . ' At age 23 in 1963
... missed cut in Masters, U.S. Open ... won the Masters and PGA titles
'. .�.1:•::::: 111 .•.�
At aae 29 in 196
... tied for sixth in British Open
At age 35 in 1975 . ':Nicklaus in 1986
... won Masters, PGA titles again ... Tour's lifetime money- lcader-
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALMI BEACH
HISTORIAN
Nicklaus' fourth -round scorecard at the 1986 Masters
OFFICIAL
Hole I2'oo3.1'� 4 5,00., � 6 � 7 8 9 Out -001
Vl- -.1e
,Yardage 140.q;S 0Z -O 3 8 X60 3 356 5
Par 4 5 4 1 3-1 4 .-3 1 4 5-1 4 3 6
Player �-f y' LI- � L�- 3 !.1" 5 3
AST
SANDY LYLE
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Sunday
SCOIRECAR.DApril 139 1986
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Il 1 17 18 ( In Totals
5' 6(�,�4'0 S� " 0 7 '5 0 40i 6905
4 1 3 1 54 I 1 3 3 6 2
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I HAVE CHECKED MY SCORE HOLE BY HOL&C7
-PLAYER SIGNATURE %.•-�
/Jack Nicklaus
VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEAQ1
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