19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

OPEN CONTENTION
Sirs:
Never before have I read an article in your magazine as prejudiced as Alfred Wright's article on Jack Nicklaus' U.S. Open victory (Jack Delivers the Crusher, June 26). I am one of the first to admit that Jack Nicklaus is one of the finest golfers in the world. But let's be fair, shall we? Several of Mr. Wright's comments about Arnold Palmer were cruel and unnecessary. Loyalty and admiration for individual athletes are fine until one loses sight of the qualities and talents of other athletes, too. In my opinion, this is precisely what Mr. Wright has done.
CHARLES GARY IAMS
Marion, Ohio

Sirs:
I would like to congratulate Alfred Wright on his article. It is about time that someone told the golfing public who really is the greatest golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus.

I admit that Arnold Palmer has more class than any other golfer, but that doesn't win golf tournaments. Jack Nicklaus is the greatest and should be getting the applause he deserves.
BEN BROWNING
Menlo Park, Calif.

Sirs:
There is surely little sense in the arithmetic by which you, and others, claim that Nicklaus' score at Baltusrol constitutes an Open record.

Quantitative comparison among and between scores recorded on different golf courses is totally meaningless. The only proper test is strokes vs. par. Nicklaus' 275 was five strokes under par—or five strokes better than theoretically faultless golf.

How much under par was Hogan's 276 at Riviera in 1948? By how much has any Open winner beaten par in the 67 years of Opens? I don't know, but I do know that the champion by this test is the alltime Open champion.
DIGBY WHITMAN
Wausau, Wis.

?These are the five best under-par Open scores—either tying or beating Jack's five under:

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
—ED.

Sirs:
Hated to see Jack Nicklaus get the kiss of death by being on the cover of SI, but most of all I think that the vice-president in charge of "what shall we put on the cover this week" really must have gone to a lot of trouble to find the ugliest picture I ever saw. Jack is to me a clean-cut, all-American-looking guy (maybe slightly overfed). But this picture is very poor photography to me—bad angle, etc. You must have had better pictures, or maybe this particular vice-president belongs to Arnie's Army.
Mrs. JACK INGRAM
Jacksonville

RUNNING ROOM
Sirs:
Your picture story (Bright Faces of the Future, June 26) was very interesting, and I am sure that the track future of the U.S. is in the hands of some fine young men.