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Bearing back Crowd favorite Nicklaus begins last appearance at AT&T
Posted: Thursday February 03, 2000 05:19 PM
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Jack Nicklaus moans softly and stretches out on a wood bench alongside the 11th tee. His lower back is aching, and other parts of his 60-year-old body feel pretty sore as well. "You're not going to get back up, Jack," chides a white-haired spectator. 'Maybe I'll just take a nap," Nicklaus shoots back. He's up in a minute, hitting a long drive a bit to the left. Fans cheer and call out, "Way to go, Jack." The man who has won 18 major tournaments and earned $8.3 million in prize money simply sticks out his tongue in annoyance at his imperfect shot. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend is a sentimental journey for Nicklaus, who says it will be his last appearance at an event he has won three times. It's also a family affair, since he's playing with two of his sons. And it's also all about competition. Nicklaus realizes he's no longer likely to win this tournament or any other PGA Tour event, and that he's not even one of the top players on the PGA Senior Tour these days. But he's here to compete and to work on his game, looking ahead to the U.S. Open that will be held at Pebble Beach in mid-June. Nicklaus won the 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. "You always hope to be a factor and you don't want to show up unless you can be a factor," Nicklaus said. "But, realistically, I haven't played enough golf in the past year to be able to contend." Nicklaus is fully recovered from hip-replacement surgery that sidelined him for much of 1999. But he has the nagging aches and pains of most people his age. "I wake up every morning with something new. The hip hasn't been a problem. It's been getting strength back after everything has been cut off," he said. "I've worked pretty hard to get myself in reasonable shape. I work out every day, but it gets more difficult when you get to my age." Nicklaus is one of only four men to complete the Grand Slam, and has won all four majors at least three times. His first major title was a playoff victory over Arnold Palmer in the 1962 U.S. Open, and the most recent was a record sixth Masters crown in 1986 at the age of 46. The man with 70 PGA Tour victories was in contention at the Masters two years ago, making a final-round charge to tie for sixth. At age 58, with a hip so sore it caused him to limp, Nicklaus became the oldest top-10 finisher at Augusta. Much of Nicklaus' motivation these days comes from the chance to play with his sons. His amateur partner in the Pebble Beach tourney is Steve Nicklaus. Gary Nicklaus, who earned his PGA Tour card in qualifying school last year, is playing in a foursome with his dad, his brother and John Elway this weekend. So the senior Nicklaus is playing many roles at Pebble Beach -- elder statesman, competitor, father and coach. And realist. The Nicklaus-Elway foursome was held up momentarily Thursday morning on the 11th tee at Spyglass Hill, waiting for another group to vacate the green 528 yards away. A few raindrops were falling and gusty winds were whipping the tops of trees along the course when the elder Nicklaus stepped to the tee. "They don't have to worry. I can't hit it that far," Nicklaus said of the group on the green. "Maybe Gary can hit it that far."
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