Once again, as they did in 1979 when he failed to win a tournament or finish among the top four money winners for the first time in 17 years, critics are saying Jack Nicklaus` competitive golfing days are at an end.
Those murmurings were heard Friday when Nicklaus missed the cut in the British Open for the first time in 24 years. It marked the second consecutive major tournament in which he failed to make the cut, another dubious first in his incomparable career.
The man who has won 19 major tourneys, more than any golfer in history, and admits he concentrates on those events, warns that it would be a mistake to underestimate the Golden Bear just yet. At 45, he`s already thinking about winning his next test, the Western Open starting Aug. 1 at Butler National.
”I don`t think age has anything to do with the the game of golf,”
Nicklaus said Friday after he shot a 75 to follow an opening-round 77. He missed the cut by three strokes. ”What has a lot to do with it is the amount of time you`re willing to work and dedicate yourself.
”Most people get tired of working when they`re 45 or 50. But that`s not a big problem for me. I`ve organized myself well, and I`m not as busy with business interests as I was five years ago. I have become a golfer again.”
He pointed out that other people often retire to a life of golf, and said: ”I don`t think I`ll ever retire as such. What will I retire to? I have no desire to quit playing golf. Right now, I`m looking forward to playing in the Western Open and the PGA.”
Nicklaus, winner of 70 tour events, has been a top-10 finisher 67 times in the four major tournaments, including 18 times in 24 British Opens. He has not been a regular in the Western, but says he entered the Chicago tourney this year because he wants to become one of the 12 players on the Ryder Cup team that plays the Europeans in September.
”I`m 19th on the list,” he said. ”I`m 34 points out of making the team. You get 70 points for winning and 35 for second. That`s what I`m looking toward now.”
Nicklaus was surprised he didn`t play well in the British Open, especially after tying for second in the Canadian Open two weeks ago.
”I came here with a good attitude,” he said. ”And I felt I was starting to play well. In fact, I hit the ball fairly well, but I ended up in a few bad places and made a very stupid mistake.”
On the par-4 eighth hole, what many players fear about Royal St. George`s course happened to Nicklaus. Although in the fairway, his ball lodged in the side of one of the large sandhills, leaving him with almost no stance or swing. He ended up with a double bogey.
Before his 3:40 p.m. starting time Thursday, Nicklaus was taking in the tourney on television. He said he watched player after player hit the ball over the fence on the 14th, a par-5 hole where several were scoring 8s and 9s. ”I said I would hit a 1-iron,” he said, ”but when I got out there, the wind had dropped and I thought I could make the green in two.”
Instead, like the players before him, Nicklaus hit the ball over the fence and ended up with another double bogey.
Friday, the winds and slanting rain made playing conditions miserable.
”It was the kind of day you go to the office,” Nicklaus said. Still, he said he shot ”not that bad a 75.”
Nicklaus said the wind was so severe it knocked him off stride several times while he was putting, ruining his rhythm.
”I take longer than most standing over the ball, but you really had to concentrate on hitting it before the wind blew you over,” he said.
His putting, which he said has improved in recent weeks, is the main reason Nicklaus has had such a poor year. It seems all those years of kneeling to line up putts damaged his knee cartilage, much like a baseball catcher who has to squat repeatedly.
Nicklaus had minor surgery last November–”I was out of the hospital by afternoon,” he said–but the operation prevented him from pursuing his vigorous physical exercise program, including almost daily running.
”I really can`t wait until the end of the season now,” he said, ”so I can do all of the things I usually do. I feel I`ve lost strength because I couldn`t exercise.
”I`ve found I haven`t been able to get out of the rough. Where I used to hit a three or four iron, I`m now hitting an eight or nine (just to pitch out short). I`m not as strong as when I was 25, but I still should be able to get a five or six iron through that stuff.”
But that`s not a sign of decline, Nicklaus insists.
”I`m not looking forward to playing the senior tour,” he said. ”Maybe in five years we`ll talk about it. Now, I just want to talk about the Western Open.”
