Nicklaus Says Emotional Goodbye To St. Andrews

PGATour.com ^ | 7/16/05 | Dave Shedloski

[beyond the sea]

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Never has there been a golfer who better understood the value of a moment and could keep himself in it, who could make the unforgiving minute stutter, who could hold back the years like some Olympian god. So it was no surprise when Jack Nicklaus compressed time at the home of golf with one final perfect stroke that represented all of the competitive magic he brought to major championships for nearly half a century.

On Friday at the Old Course, one of his most cherished places in the world, with the stubborn Scottish sun at his back, the Golden Bear mustered the waning remnants of his immense talents to close the circle on the long, gray line of his career. He ended his 164th and final major championship the way he began his very first at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, as a 17-year-old kid playing in the 1957 U.S. Open.

He made a birdie. Let the record show that at 6:01 p.m. local time – and the clock striking midnight on a golden era – Nicklaus’ final stroke traveled 13 feet, curled six inches from left to right, and connected generations. It connected those who witnessed him at the height of his powers and those who caught a last fleeting glimpse but who mostly can only see in their mind’s eye Nicklaus’ greatness through the exploits of the man who pursues his records, Tiger Woods.

Nicklaus bowed out of the 134th British Open with a round of level-par 72, an acceptable score that at once allows him to go out with dignity yet suffices as clear proof that his presence in the arena he once dominated is no longer required. His 147 total, 3 over par, was two shy of making the cut.

[antaresequity]

He would have made the cut but ended up in either the 'Hell' or 'Coffin' bunkers...cost him two strokes from what the announcers said