Nicklaus reflects on 50th anniversary of first Masters title

AUGUSTA, Ga. - You can never get enough Jack Nicklaus.

He's been in the interview room at the Masters maybe a couple of hundred times through the decades. Tuesday afternoon, he made another appearance before heading to the Champions Dinner, maybe for one of the last times, since, at 73, the Golden Bear is now only one of the ceremonial starters. He came to share some thoughts about the 50th anniversary of the first of his six victories at Augusta National. And about 10 other wide-ranging topics. As always, it was highly entertaining.

"I came here in '59 [for the first time, as an amateur], played pretty well," Nicklaus recalled. "I remember hitting 31 greens in regulation. I missed the cut. Arnold [Palmer] hit 19 greens and was leading the tournament. Art Wall was two shots in front of me, and he won the tournament. I figured out I better learn how to putt the greens."

Obviously, he learned well. Four years later, he had a green jacket. Well, sort of.

"When we finished [the third round], I looked at the leader board," he said. "It was a rainy day. Just poured. The 13th fairway was 100 percent casual water. They said tough, play it. So we played out of water . . . I'm color-blind. I saw a lot of ones up there. I said to my caddie, 'How many of them are red [under par]?' He said, 'Just you, boss.'

"They didn't have a jacket my size. Arnold put it on me. It was a 46 long. I could have used it for an overcoat. I'm a 43 regular. [In 1965], they gave me Tom Dewey's jacket. The New York governor. He was a 43 regular. It fit perfect. I wore it for about 10 years. Around '98, I told [chairman] Jack Stephens, 'I won six times and never got a jacket.' He said, 'What?' That night, there was a note on my locker telling me to go to the pro shop and pick up my jacket."

Tiger Woods has four of them. He also has 14 majors, four fewer than Jack's record. Naturally, the subject came up.

"I never counted, until [a writer] told me in 1970 at St. Andrews that I needed three more to tie Bobby Jones," Nicklaus said. "Honest. I certainly didn't like being second. Obviously, the older he gets, if he doesn't win, it makes my record move out further. I still expect him to do it. He's too talented, too driven, too focused on that. But he still has to do it.

"From this point, he needs to win five majors. That's a career for most people. He's played very well this spring. If he wins here, it's a very large step to regaining his confidence. But it's been a while. He's going to have to figure it out."

Nicklaus thought it had been 3 1/2 years since Tiger's last major win, instead of nearly 5. And it's been 8 since he won for the fourth time here.

"I hadn't given it much thought," Nicklaus confessed. "He's in contention every year. Look at my record. I won in '63, '65 and '66, but not again till '72. Then '75. But it was 11 years until '86. A career's not made over a couple of years. I don't think it's any big deal. But I'm sure he does."

Jack's last one came at age 46, 6 years after his 17th major. It remains the all-timer.

"All of a sudden, I remembered how to play," he said, referring to his closing 65 that included a 30 on the back nine. "It was like, 'This is what I'm supposed to be doing.' "

And nobody did it better. There's someone who's trying. Maybe Tiger will come back in 2047 to reminisce on his golden anniversary.

At some point, 45 minutes after he'd started, Nicklaus had to leave for the Champions Dinner. Or else he might have stayed for another 45. Which meant everyone else would have, too. But before he exited stage left, he was asked about Merion and the upcoming U.S. Open. In 1971, he lost there to Lee Trevino in an 18-hole playoff. In 2 months, he'll be back, to host another Champions Dinner, the first one the Open has held since 2000, with Trevino, Palmer and David Graham, who won the last Open at Merion 32 years ago.

"Merion will do just fine," Nicklaus promised. "Merion has got six or seven holes that you can abuse. They have six or seven holes that will abuse you. I think it will be a really exciting Open because of the nature of the golf course."

Can't wait. For the championship, and hopefully another chance to talk with the best.