Jack Nicklaus was already one for the ages.
So his victory Sunday in The Tradition in Scottsdale, Ariz.–enough to start a legend for many–would have taken its place on the shelf of other storied triumphs except that it was Nicklaus’ 100th pro victory.
The total includes foreign tournaments, and Nicklaus said he wasn’t as sure about it as Larry O’Brien, his administrative assistant.
“Let’s call it 100,” said Nicklaus, who won his fourth Tradition title, becoming the first to win a Senior PGA tournament four times. “After I won (Feb. 18) in Tampa, I went to see Larry O’Brien, and he said, `Jack, your next win will be your 100th.’ And I said, `Great. Now I have a monkey on my back.’ “
Nicklaus has won 70 titles on the regular tour, 10 as a senior and 20 others around the world. He was the defending champion in the 8-year-old tournament. He also won on his first attempt in 1990, and in 1991.
He vaulted past Hale Irwin with a three-shot swing on the 12th hole and stayed ahead, finishing with a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole to put the finishing touch on a second straight round of 7-under 65 for a 16-under 272.
“He played fantastic,” Nicklaus said about Irwin, who led by three shots on the back nine but lost by three. “He was playing perfect golf. My goal was just to not let him get out of sight.”
Irwin began the round at 10 under, one shot ahead of Nicklaus and two up on Raymond Floyd, and reached 15 under by No. 10. But he couldn’t overcome three straight bogeys on Nos. 11-13 and shot 69 for a 275.
“I felt it was my opportunity to prolong the legacy of Jack Nicklaus,” Irwin said. “He did play well. He saved a lot of little shots, and my hat is off to him. I think those of us who buried him two or three years ago had better put the shovels back in the garage.”
Floyd had two bogeys and a double bogey in the last five holes of the front nine and needed a strong finish to get back to 281.
Bob Murphy completed the tournament at 282, Walter Morgan and Al Geiberger finished at 283, and George Archer and John Bland were another shot behind.
Gary Player, who nearly dropped out after the second round until acupuncture relieved the pain in his aching back, and second-round leader J.C. Snead were at 285.
Last year Nicklaus had to hold off Isao Aoki in a three-hole playoff to claim the trophy. This time he shaved five strokes from par in two days at No. 12, a 500-yard par-5 on the Cochise Course he designed for Desert Mountain.
Nicklaus won $150,000, raising his 1996 earnings to $299,000 in three tournaments and his career money to $7,521,744, including $2,081,388 on the senior tour.
Twelve Bridges: In Lincoln, Calif., Kelly Robbins beat Val Skinner on the fifth playoff hole of the LPGA event. The weary Robbins rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt and then let out a sigh of relief when Skinner was short on a putt from the fringe.
Robbins, who won $75,000, tied the tournament’s best round with a 7-under 64 Sunday. Skinner shot 65 in the final round. Each finished at 11-under 273.
Robbins, who won the LPGA Championship last year, has four career tournament titles.
Skinner, who had four straight birdies on the 12th through 15th holes to take a one-shot lead, dropped a stroke on the 17th when her second shot out of a marshy area rolled into a stake that had been dropped onto the course.
A marshal had removed the stake to lower a gallery rope, but left it on the ground in the line of Skinner’s shot. The stake stopped Skinner’s ball short of the fairway, and Skinner had to scramble for a bogey.
Robbins missed some chances to avoid a playoff. She rolled a 6-foot birdie putt on 18 just to the right of the hole, and missed a 3-foot par putt on 15 after being distracted by a golf cart. She stopped, and then missed her short putt a minute later.
The tournament was the coming-out party for the new 6,040-yard course, nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento.
