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One
Golden
Sunday
Remarkably, Jack Nicklaus
has been a key figure in
the golf world for half
a century. Among all
his achievements, the
1986 Masters stands
alone as his most
memorable victory.
BRIAN D. MORGAN;
18th hole, 520 yards
One
GOlden
Sunday
remarkably, jack nicklauS haS been a key fiGure
in the GOlf wOrld fOr half a century.
amOnG all hiS achievementS, the 1986 maSterS
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES
StandS alOne aS hiS mOSt memOrable victOry.
B y
C R A I G
7
D O L C H
NICKLAUS PREMIER CLUBS
Nicklaus drives toward his sixth green jacket.
in SpOrtS,
a quarter century represents generations of change.
Phenoms arrive amid mountains of hype and depart with little notice. Records
are broken and milestones are reached. Legends peak, retire and fade away, to
be resurrected occasionally for special events.
Consider the most celebrated sports figures from 1986: Bill Buckner, Mike Tyson,
Diego Maradona, William “the Refrigerator” Perry, Greg LeMond. Most have
long stepped away from the spotlight, and none has continued to impact their
of the highlight on television. He will stop what
he’s doing and realize why the rest of the world
remains captivated with that day 25 years ago.
“I think a lot of what it is,” Nicklaus says, “there
was an old guy out there playing golf who wasn’t
supposed to compete anymore, and in his own
mind, too. But in my later years, I always believed
in two things: That on some days I could be as
good as I ever was, and that if I got in contention
in a major, I would remember how to win.”
sports gn firm that is responsible for more than 350 courses—more than 90
celebration as his 1986 Masters win, one of the
greatest moments in sports history. These days,
even at the age of 71, Nicklaus is too busy to
fully reflect on that tournament. He is traveling
around the world and running a business, most
notably the design firm that is responsible for
more than 350 courses—more than 300 of them
built after he won the 1986 Masters, the last of
his 18 major championship victories.
But no feat quite matches the high of that
magical Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club,
when he shot 30 on the back nine to charge past
eight players and win his sixth green jacket.
Sometimes, the Golden Bear will catch a glimpse
8
LEADING UP to the 1986 Masters, there
were few indications Nicklaus would even get a
chance to summon that knowledge. It had been
six years since his last win in a major, and in the
seven starts prior to the Masters, he had missed
three cuts and his best finish was a tie for 39th.
Off the course, Nicklaus had been spending a
lot of time on his business, Golden Bear Interna-
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES
percent of them after the 1986 Masters, the last of his 18 major victories.
ONE GOLDEN SUNDAY
tional. Considering his recent form, there was little surprise when Tom McCollister of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution wrote in his Masters preview
that Nicklaus was “done, washed up, through.” One
of Nicklaus’ closest friends, John Montgomery Sr.,
who was staying with the Nicklauses at a rented
house in Augusta, pinned the article to the refrigerator, knowing Nicklaus would see it.
“I kept thinking all week: Through, washed up,
huh?” Nicklaus says. “I sizzled for a while. But then
I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to quit now, playing the way I’m playing. I’ve played too well, too
long, to let a shorter period of bad golf be my last.’”
Scores of 74 and 71 didn’t change observers’
minds, though. Midway through the second round,
CBS announcer Ken Venturi said, “Jack’s got to
start thinking about when it is time to retire.”
Nicklaus improved to a 69 in the third round,
leaving him four shots behind leader Greg
Norman. There were only eight players ahead of
Nicklaus, but six—Norman, Tom Kite, Nick
Price, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Tom
Watson—were eventual Hall of Famers.
“My son Steve called me [Sunday] morning,”
Nicklaus says, “and he asked me, ‘Well, Pop,
what’s it going to take?’
“I said, ‘Sixty-six will tie and 65 will win.’
“He said, ‘That’s the number I was thinking.
Well, go ahead and do it.’
“After I hung up I thought: You know, I’ve got
a chance to win this golf tournament.”
JACK NICKLAUS
THE MASTER
Everybody knows Jack Nicklaus won the Masters a record six times. Few realize that no player has
thoroughly owned a tournament the way Nicklaus has dominated at Augusta National Golf Club.
Here are some of the dozens of Masters records he holds.
MOST WINS
6 (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986)
YOUNGEST TWO-TIME WINNER
25 years, 2 months, 21 days (1965)
YOUNGEST THREE-TIME WINNER
26 years, 2 months, 20 days (1966)
OLDEST WINNER
46 years, 2 months, 23 days (1986)
F I R S T P L AY E R T O W I N B A C K - T O - B A C K T I T L E S
1965–66
L O N G E S T S PA N B E T W E E N F I R S T A N D L A S T W I N S
23 years
MOST RUNNER-UP FINISHES
4 (tied with Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf)
MOST TOP-5 FINISHES
15
MOST TOP-10 FINISHES
22
MOST CUTS MADE
37
IT DIDN’T LOOK that way after eight holes
on a day he chose a yellow shirt that would go well
with a green jacket. But matching colors was not
the reason Nicklaus chose that shirt. He did so in
honor of Craig Smith, the son of Dr. Bill Smith,
a family friend who delivered the opening prayer
of the Memorial Tournament for 30 years and was
the senior pastor at the North Broadway United
Methodist Church, where the Nicklauses wed.
Craig developed leukemia when he was 11, and
died two years later in 1971. He was a huge Nicklaus fan and wrote him many letters while he was
sick. Nicklaus wrote back and in one correspondence, asked about Craig’s favorite color, which
turned out to be yellow.
“Jack and Craig had a real special connection,”
says Nicklaus’ wife, Barbara. “Jack would call him
every week to see how he was doing. One day
Craig said, ‘I knew you were going to win. I had
on my lucky yellow shirt.’
MOST BIRDIES
506
MOST EAGLES
24
O N LY P L AY E R T O E A G L E T H E S A M E PA R - 4 H O L E T W I C E I N O N E Y E A R
5th hole (1995)
M O S T S U B - PA R R O U N D S
71
MOST UNDER-70 ROUNDS
39
O L D E S T P L AY E R T O F I N I S H I N T H E T O P 1 0
1998 (age 58)
OLDEST LEADER AFTER FIRST ROUND
1993 (age 53)
M O S T AWA R D S F O R F E AT S ( E A G L E S , D A I LY L O W S C O R E , R U N N E R - U P F I N I S H E S )
88
9
NICKLAUS PREMIER CLUBS
JIM NANTZ
THE ROOKIE
Jim Nantz’s first Masters as a broadcaster was in 1986. From
his position on the 16th hole, Nantz was the man on the scene
for Nicklaus’ near-perfect 5-iron on the par 3.
Earlier in the week, Nantz had happened to ask his producer, the legendary Frank Chirkinian, what he should say if a player
made an ace on the hole during the telecast. “Son, this is a visual medium,” Chirkinian replied. “If the ball goes in the hole, I’ll tell
you what to say: nothing.”
Wisely, Nantz, then 26, heeded the directive as Nicklaus’
ball rolled over the edge of the hole and ended up three feet
away. It wasn’t until Nicklaus walked off the green after making a birdie to tie for the lead that Nantz
finally made his call: “The Bear has come out of hibernation.”
“I had to say something,” Nantz recalls, “But I was feeling a bit lightheaded by the gravity of
the moment and wasn’t sure what had been said earlier. As soon as the words were out of my
mouth, self-doubt kicked in. It was trite—surely somebody else already said that, I thought.
“Later, Brent Musburger relieved my fears. ‘Great job, kid,’ he said. ‘And a great line.’”
After the round, Nantz was walking back to the clubhouse when lead announcer Ken Venturi
picked him up in a cart. “Jimmy, you may be lucky enough to broadcast 50 Masters,” Venturi said.
“But you’ll never live to see a greater one than the one you saw today.”
A two-putt birdie on the 13th hole left him
three shots back, which is where his position on
the leader board remained when he reached the
par-5 15th hole. A 298-yard drive left him with
202 yards to the green. Looking down at the
shallow green ringed by thousands of fans, Nick-
MACGREGOR RESPONSE ZT
THE PUTTER
Jack Nicklaus won his first 17 majors with compact
blade-style putters. For his 18th, he used an oversize
heel-toe-weighted MacGregor Response ZT that drew
double takes from everybody who saw the Golden
Bear wielding it at the 1986 Masters.
It is one of the most famous putters ever, and in
honor of the 25th anniversary of the tournament in
which it starred, Nicklaus Companies is offering a limited-edition collectible item featuring a replica of the
MacGregor Response ZT, signed photograph and a
copy of Nicklaus' 1986 Masters scorecard, along
with a certificate of authenticity featuring an official
Golden Bear hologram.
Only 86 of the pieces will be made available for
purchase through the Nicklaus Companies for a price
of $2,995. Go to Nicklaus.com for more information.
10
CBS PHOTO ARCHIVE; AUGUSTA NATIONAL/GETTY IMAGES
“And Jack said, ‘I’m going to wear my lucky
yellow shirt from now on.’ So he wore a yellow shirt
every Sunday basically for Craig.”
Nicklaus never told anyone why; he just did it.
Fifteen years after Craig’s death, Jack and Barbara
decided to reprise the tradition for the final round
of the 1986 Masters. That day, nobody knew the
significance of the shirt except two parents in Ohio,
who sat in front of their television and wept.
The cheers wouldn’t start until the 9th hole,
when Nicklaus was five shots behind. Nicklaus
was surveying a birdie putt when he heard backto-back roars reverberating among the pines. On
No. 8, Kite had holed out from the fairway, followed by a chip-in by Ballesteros, both for eagle.
After the second outburst, Nicklaus turned to
his eldest son and caddie, Jack II, and said, “Let’s
make some noise of our own here.”
He did, and looking back, Nicklaus is convinced the birdie on the 9th hole is where the
magic started. After birdies on the difficult 10th
and 11th holes, a bogey at the 12th stalled his
charge. Although Nicklaus lost a stroke, the setback shifted his strategy.
“I don’t know why, but [the bogey on the 12th
hole] really got me going,” Nicklaus says. “After
that, I knew I had to play aggressively the rest of
the way if I was going to have a chance to win.”
laus said to his son, “How far do you think a
three would go here?”
Nicklaus wasn’t talking about a 3-iron.
“Let’s see it.”
Nicklaus’ 4-iron shot sailed high and true, nearly landing in the hole before stopping 12 feet
away. When Nicklaus made the putt, Jack II leaped
as if celebrating a game-winning basket.
“I have been to a lot of sporting events, whether
it be going to North Carolina games at
Carmichael Auditorium or football games,” says
the younger Nicklaus, who attended the University of North Carolina. “But I’ve never heard that
noise level. My ears were just ringing.”
This was when the usual reserve and decorum
found at Augusta National took a break. The
patrons responded with the most spontaneous,
most jubilant outbreak golf had seen since the
1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club, where
the reaction to Francis Ouimet’s birdie putt on
the 17th hole was immortalized by Herbert
Warren Wind, who wrote: “The keyed-up spectators ... could not control themselves. They yelled,
pummeled each other joyously, swatted their
friends with umbrellas, and shouted delirious
phrases they had not thought of since boyhood.”
Seventy-three years later at Augusta, grown
men were sprinting toward Nicklaus’ group and
climbing trees for a better view. Pimento-cheesesandwich vendors were abandoning their posts
“Somewhere out there
as I went on with
the round, particularly
over the last nine
or 10 holes, I remembered
who I was… I just went
back in time and made
sure all the things I used to
know how to do, I did.
And I didn’t forget them
as we went along.”
Father and son embrace on the 18th green.
ONE GOLDEN SUNDAY
to get a glimpse of history. The usually stoic
“The affection Jackie and I showed each othwho had made three consecutive birdies to tie—
Pinkerton security guards were clapping, as were
er seems to have become one of the sport’s most
hit his second shot well right of the green for a
the leader-board workers who kept hanging everindelible moments,” says Nicklaus, “and it will
crushing bogey.
increasing red numbers next to Nicklaus’ name.
surely remain one of my most cherished memoAnd it was over. Nicklaus had done the seemEveryone seemed to sense Nicklaus’ destiny. He
ries through all of my remaining days.”
ingly impossible. He was Golden again.
received a standing ovation as he walked to the
Nicklaus went to the Jones Cabin and watched
16th tee. After finally quieting down,
the patrons erupted again after Nicklaus’
NICKLAUS didn’t walk away
5-iron tee shot, which flew directly at
then. He kept playing, joining the
the flagstick.
senior circuit, where he won several
“Be right,” Jack II said as the ball
majors. He even contended in one
reached its apex.
last Masters in 1998, tantalizing the
“It is,” said Nicklaus, who had nogolf world with a final-round 68 that
toriously bad vision and didn’t even
vaulted him into a tie for sixth at age
follow the flight of the ball, bending
58. His last Masters was in 2005, and
down to pick up his tee instead. “It
at this year’s event, he will be an honwas as cocky a remark as I’ve made
orary starter alongside Arnold Palmer.
in my life,” he says.
This tradition may have the feel of
The ball nearly went in the hole,
a baseball old-timers’ game, the sinand Nicklaus made the three-foot putt
gle opportunity a year during which
to get within two shots of the leader,
retired legends can suit up and be a
Ballesteros. Nicklaus admits he had
part of the sport again, if just for a few
tears in his eyes as he stood on the
hours. But Nicklaus has never been
17th tee. He steadied himself, but still
away from the highest levels of golf,
hit a poor drive, missing the fairway.
largely because of his design career.
He gouged a pitching wedge out of
His courses are regular tournament
the left rough and the ball stopped
sites, and he hosts one of the PGA
12 feet from the hole. As he was walkTour’s marquee stops, the Memorial
H E L E N , M A R I LY N A N D B A R B A R A N I C K L A U S
ing to the green, he heard a groan
Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf
from the adjoining fairway—Nicklaus
Club in Dublin, Ohio.
knew that meant Ballesteros had hit
Nicklaus Design is at the core of
his second shot into the water at No.
the
privately held Nicklaus CompaJack Nicklaus’ mother, Helen, attended Nicklaus’ first Masters, in
15, leading to a double bogey.
nies,
to which Nicklaus has commit1959. She watched as he missed the cut, and didn’t return to
Suddenly, Nicklaus was within 12
ted
the
same level of focus and excelAugusta until 1986. She was there as much to see the course—and
feet of the lead. Father and son studlence he brought to his playing career.
the flora—as the golf.
“She wanted to go back one more time,” said Nicklaus’ wife,
ied the putt for a long time, disagree“Most people work their entire lives
Barbara. “We should have known then something special was going
so they can retire to play golf,” he
ing on the break. Jack II thought it
to happen that week.”
jokes. “I played golf my entire life so
would turn right, but Nicklaus
In addition, Nicklaus’ sister, Marilyn (pictured with Nicklaus and
I could retire to work.”
thought the influence of Rae’s Creek
Helen), was making her first trip to the Masters—and Jack still can’t
This business and the accompanying
might nudge the ball left at the end.
explain why.
exposure have kept his name ever at
In one of the day’s lasting images,
Later, after the waiting, hugs, interviews and celebrations, the
the forefront of golf, and Nicklaus’ voice
Nicklaus took a step toward the hole
last words of the day were the ones Nicklaus said to Barbara, who
is
as authoritative and relevant now as
and raised his putter triumphantly
was also at the 1959 Masters, as Jack’s girlfriend: “I finally found
it
ever was—25 years after his last
with his left hand, his tongue sticking
that guy I used to know on the golf course.
major
championship win and 49 years
out, as the ball rolled into the cup.
“It was me.”
after his first, the 1962 U.S. Open.
“I’ve putted that putt a thousand
Few figures in history have been
times since,” Nicklaus says, “and it’s
able to maintain such a high profile so consistentnever broken left.”
his pursuers play the final holes. As Kite and
ly for as long as Nicklaus has. In a lifetime of
The birdie allowed Nicklaus to play the 18th
Norman started making birdies, Nicklaus got up
grand achievements, it’s usually difficult to find
hole conservatively. After making a routine par,
from the couch and started pacing.
one that stands out. But not with this legend.
he embraced his son and the pair walked off the
Finally, the contenders reached the 18th hole.
Says three-time winner Phil Mickelson: “I don’t
green arm in arm. Those around the 18th didn’t
First, Kite’s birdie putt grazed the hole’s edge.
think any Masters will compare with 1986.”
know whether to cheer or reach for their hankies.
Then from the middle of the fairway, Norman—
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES; AUGUSTA NATIONAL/GETTY IMAGES
THE WOMEN
13
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From actors to athletes, from presidents to priests, from kids
to golf’s King, the heartfelt messages that showered Jack Nicklaus
following the 1986 Masters were as meaningful as the victory itself.
N ICK
KLAUS Magazine shares a few excerpts from the letters and
notes that followed the Golden Bear’s historic win.
Letters courtesy of the Jack Nicklaus Museum
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The Masters Tournament
legacy of Jack Nicklaus
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