GWD_MAY_16

Masters are inextricably linked. His victory in 1986 was
quite simply, one of the most remarkable moments in
sport’s entire history.
It wasn’t just because no one could have imagined a
more appropriate winner of the 50th Golden Masters
than the Golden Bear. It wasn’t even that he was 46, and
hadn’t won a tournament for two years or a major for
six, or that he had his son Jackie on his bag. The 1986
Masters was a moment in history, like the first man
landing on the moon, or Elvis dying, where you will
always remember where you were, when it happened.
The next day, there were stories in the papers about how
people had missed flights or their own wedding because
they’d been so enthralled with the action.
Certainly, at Augusta itself, the noise of the gallery
has never been heard before, or since. It was a sustained
earth-shaking roar, which rattled the very foundations
of the cathedral in the pines.
Before the week started, Nicklaus had admitted he
now felt more comfortable in the office than he did on
a golf course. He arrived at Augusta, having already
missed three cuts that year. His son, Jackie, and his
coach, Jack Grout, both told him he was moving his
hands too much when he was chipping. He had a new,
oversized, black putter. (After he only needed 13 putts
for his back nine, MacGregor had a 10-week backlog of
orders for the ZT Response.) There was also an article
in The Atlanta Constitution that suggested Nicklaus was
‘Ahead of the ’86 Masters, one American newspaper described Nicklaus as
“done, washed up, finished”. “That stung”, said Jack, “but I agreed with them” ’
“done, through, washed-up and finished”. One of
Nicklaus’ business associates put the cutting on the
fridge where he was staying for the week, so every time
the Bear needed a snack (which even in his 40s was
quite often) he would also grit his teeth, and feel he had
something to prove.
Nicklaus’ first three rounds of 74, 71 and 69 put him
in a healthy position, but some way off the pace. What
followed would have been one of the best final-round
shootouts in major history, even without Nicklaus, who
started the day five shots back. When he arrived on the
9th green, he was six back. Who knew then that he
would play the next 10 holes
in seven under, which
included a record-tying 30
strokes on the back nine?
A roar had gone up for an
eagle on the 8th. Nicklaus
joked with the crowd: “Let’s
try to get a roar here, shall
we?” His 11-footer for birdie
dropped. Roar. Five behind.
When his 25-foot birdie putt
disappeared on the 10th, there was
another roar. Four behind. The
press pack now arrived. Nicklaus
was beginning to turn heads. At
RIGHT: Nicklaus was a clutch putter –
but his long pre-shot routine did not
initially endear him to spectactors.
the 11th, he drained another birdie putt, this time from
22 feet. The roar this time was deeper and more fierce,
helped by the bank of fans around Amen Corner.
He later said that the bogey at the 12th effectively
won him the tournament: “I became aggressive after
that.” His drive at the par-5 13th was inches away from
missing the dog-leg, but it was so close to the ditch that
he had a flat lie, and was only 210 yards from the flag.
A 3-iron and two putts later, and he only had Seve
Ballesteros and Tom Kite in front of him. A Seve eagle
at the 13th put him four back but Nicklaus’ own eagle
on 15 brought him back to within touching distance of
the Spaniard. The noise when that putt went in could
THE STORY OF JACK’S JACKET
Every Masters champion receives the iconic Green Jacket as a
matter of tradition. Jack Nicklaus was the accidental exception.
When Jack Nicklaus first won at
Augusta in 1963, he didn’t
automatically receive a Green Jacket.
Arnold Palmer draped a size ‘46
long’ over his shoulders but it looked
like a dress and was quickly
discarded. Usually, before the
champion returns the following year,
a coat with their name on it will be
waiting for them, in their locker. For
whatever reason, this never
happened when Nicklaus returned in
’64 so he had to borrow one from an
Augusta member, Thomas Dewey
(Governor of New York) for the
Champions Dinner. And despite
winning again in ’65 and ’66, he
continued to borrow Dewey’s jacket,
52 Golf World May 2016