1986

Nicklaus silences critics with grand performance

By Roger Whiddon
Sports Writer

Augusta, Ga., Monday, April 14, 1986 -- The king of golf is not ready to relinquish his crown.

Jack Nicklaus, with a career unmatched in the sport, has been scorned by his subjects. His pride hurt, the questions kept coming. ``When will you step down, retire?''

The last straw was a newspaper article that got the Golden Bear growling.

``It said I was dead, washed up, through, with no chance whatsoever to win again. I was sizzling,'' said Nicklaus. ``I kept thinking, `Dead, huh? Washed up, huh?''

Nicklaus silenced his critics, answering back with one of the greatest performances in golf history. His breathtaking, thunderous charge Sunday brought him a record sixth Masters championship and, at 46, made him the oldest winner.

Gary Player shot a closing 64 to win in 1978 at age 42.

Playing what he termed ``probably the finest golf of my career,'' Nicklaus turned back the clock and won the 50th Masters by one shot, overtaking the most formidable field of international players over the final nine holes at the Augusta National Golf Club. He played the stretch in a record-matching 30.

Nicklaus brought the course and his challengers to their knees with a magnificent 7-under-par 65 for a 72-hole total of 279. His sixth green coat comes 23 years - and at least 23 pounds - since his first Masters victory in 1963.

This time, he stole the thunder from a group of his likely successors.

Nicklaus scored three consecutive birdies starting at No. 9 to put himself in contention at 5-under.

He slipped to a bogey at No. 12, ``but that was the hole that got me going,'' he said. ``I got aggressive after that. I was determined.''

He regained that lost stroke with a two-putt birdie from 30 feet at No. 13. The pivotal shot of his round came at the 500-yard 15th, where he sank a 12-foot eagle putt to vault within two shots of the lead.

``I remember I had that same putt in `75, and I didn't read enough break,'' he said. ``I hit a 4-iron 202 yards and it never left the flag. I remember that the putt broke off and never got to the hole in `75. I hit it firmer this time.''

That put the heat on Severiano Ballesteros, who undoubtedly felt the Bear's hot breath on his neck.

``This was Sunday at the Masters. There's a lot of pressure. The other guys feel it, too,'' said Nicklaus. ``They can make mistakes. I knew that if I kept my composure down the stretch, as long as I kept making birdies, I'd be OK. I kept that right at the front of my mind.''

Nicklaus proved a prophet.

Ballesteros made a watery mistake. Tom Kite, failing to capitalize, missed three birdie chances in a row. Greg Norman birdied four straight holes to tie Nicklaus, only to lose the tournament with a bogey on the final hole.

``I don't like to win a golf tournament on somebody else's mistakes. I like to win with my own clubs, but I'm tickled pink,'' said Nicklaus. ``Over the last few years, some people have done things, things I have no control over, that kept me from winning golf tournaments. Like what happened at Pebble Beach.

``This time, a couple of guys were good to me and allowed me to win.''

At Pebble Beach in the 1982 U.S. Open, Tom Watson chipped in from the heavy rough to birdie the 17th hole and snatch the victory from Nicklaus, who watched helplessly from the clubhouse.

With previous Masters titles in 1963, 1965, 1966,1972 and 1975, Nicklaus squelched all talk of retirement.

``I'm not going to quit, guys. I hate to ruin your stories,'' he said with a grin. ``Maybe I should. Maybe I should say goodbye. Maybe that'd be the smart thing to do. But I'm not that smart.

``I'm not the player I was 10 or 15 years ago. I've admitted that 100 times. But I can still play a little bit at times.''

Nicklaus started the day five shots behind the leaders. He did little to close that gap on the front nine, turning in 1-under-35 and still four shots back.

But his flurry of birdies on the back, including a dead-eye 11-footer at No. 17 to give him sole possession of the lead, allowed him to play a nine-hole stretch in 7-under.

``I didn't expect to be in a position to win, but I didn't think I was completely out of it. I talked to my son, Steve, this morning and felt that if I shot a 66, I would tie and a 65 would win. That's exactly what happened.

``I told my son Jackie, my caddy, at the 17th that this was the most fun I've had in five or six years. I was doing things right. I finally made a bunch of putts. I had been playing well all week.''

Nicklaus savors the victory even more because he beat four of golf's brightest stars head-to-head. Ballesteros, Kite, defending champion Bernhard Langer, Nicklaus and Norman all led or shared the lead at one point over the final 18 holes.

In the end, it was golf's biggest star that shone the brightest.

His six titles ties Harry Vardon, a six-time British Open champion, for the most victories in any of golf's four major events, which also includes the U.S. Open and the PGA.

Nicklaus now has 18 wins in those events, the first of which came at the 1962 U.S. Open. His major total includes a record-tying five PGAs, three British Opens and six Masters.

The win gives Nicklaus his first major title since 1980 and his first victory of any kind since he won his own Memorial Tournament in 1984.

With Nicklaus' score posted and on ice for more than 30 minutes, Norman was the last man with a chance to unseat him.

Norman, ``The Great White Shark'' from Australia, rode a string of four consecutive birdies into the final hole. He dropped a 15-foot putt at the 17th to tie Nicklaus at 9-under.

All he needed to force a sudden-death playoff was a par on the 18th. A birdie would win.

With Nicklaus watching on television at the Jones Cabin, Norman pushed his second shot well into the gallery. His chin dropped to his chest in disappointment.

Norman pitched down the slope and his ball ran 18 to 20 feet past the hole. He missed his par putt, making Nicklaus the winner in one of the most thrilling finishes of all time.

``I know I gave 101 percent and never gave up. What do you want me to do, cry?'' said Norman, who closed with a 70 to finish at 280. ``I knew I needed to make four or five birdies on the finishing holes to win. I gave it my best shot. That's all I can do.

``This makes Winged Foot look like playing through a graveyard,'' added Norman, who lost the 1984 U.S. Open to Fuzzy Zoeller in an 18-hole playoff at Winged Foot. ``Everybody here loves Jack. This is his place. The atmosphere was like nothing I've ever seen anywhere.

``Jack's special and I know this was special for him. Maybe next year will be my year. It's OK, because I know one of these days, I'm gonna break his record of six Masters anyway.''

Norman tied for second with Kite, who has played so well so often, only to come up empty at Augusta.

Like Norman, Kite had his chance to tie, but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole. He crouched on the green in disbelief, covering his face with his hands.

The man who lose to Ben Crenshaw here in 1984 had just carded a 4-under-68 and at one time shared the lead, only to be a bridesmaid again.

``Two years ago, I feel like I lost that tournament. This tournament, Jack won,'' said Kite. ``I knew it was in. I made that putt. How it did what it did, I'll never know.

``Jack was as close to being out of this tournament as you could be. His 65 is phenomenal. Obviously, he's not finished.''

Ballesteros, who predicted victory earlier in the week, had his finger on the pulse of the tournament. He scored two eagles and at one time held a three-shot lead on the final nine.

He hit into the water at the 15th, had a 3-putt bogey at the 17th and eventually finished fourth with a 70 for a 281 total.

South African Nick Price, who set a Masters record with a 63 just one day earlier, couldn't rekindle his Saturday magic. He shot a 71 to finish and another shot back.

And there were other challengers: Langer, the defending champion; Corey Pavin, making only his third Masters appearance; and Watson, five-time British Open champion and a two-time winner of this event.

Watson couldn't get his putter working and closed with a 71 to tie Price. Jay Haas, who closed with 67 as the leaders made the turn, finished at 283, also.

Langer, bidding to become the only man besides Nicklaus to win back-to-back titles, shared the lead early. But the fair haired West German fell from grace with bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes. He finished with a double-bogey for a 75 and a 286 total.

Augusta's Larry Mize matched Nicklaus' round with a birdie-dotted 65 to finish at 2-under-286, seven shots out of the lead and tied for 16th.

``There were several times when the tears started swelling up,'' said Nicklaus. ``It happened four or five times out there today. I had to get a grip on myself a couple of times.

``You don't win the Masters at age 46. This is a young man's golf course.''

Not anymore.

Not since the Olden Bear turned Golden again.