Nicklaus
nearly done with competitive golf
TRAVELERS REST, S.C. (AP) -- It turns out
Jack Nicklaus might be finished with more
than just the Masters.
He
spoke Wednesday about giving up a game he
once dominated, winning 73 PGA Tour events
and 18 major titles.
‘‘I’m
about done playing golf,’’ the
64-year-old Nicklaus said at the Nationwide
Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs.
He’s competing here with his four
sons: Jackie, Gary, Steve and Michael.
‘‘I
haven’t made up my mind whether I’m
going to play anymore this year after the
Memorial tournament’’ in June,
Nicklaus said.
At
the Masters this month, the six-time champion
said it was likely that he would not play
at Augusta National in 2005. And that was
before he shot consecutive 75s to miss the
cut.
Nicklaus
has struggled with arthritis, injuries and
a faltering game the past few seasons.
‘‘I
know I can’t compete at the level
I used to compete,’’ Nicklaus
said. ‘‘If I go out and finish
in the top 10, and that’s a great
week, then I know it’s time to hang
up your spikes.’’
Gary
Player, 68, empathized with Nicklaus.
‘‘It’s
hard spending all your time playing golf,
like you did when you were a young man,’’
said Player, here with his son Marc.
A
year ago, the Golden Bear was the only Nicklaus
around for the Nationwide event’s
final two rounds. He won the pro-am competition
with son Steve and briefly scared the younger
pros when he got to within five shots of
the lead after 36 holes. Nicklaus left with
a smile on his face, happy he was close
to again playing successful, competitive
golf.
Time
and his own high standards have made it
hard to maintain that momentum, Nicklaus
said.
People
continually ask him not to quit. ‘‘But
I tell them, ’Well, you’re not
in my body,’’’ Nicklaus
said.
A
full day swinging clubs is more of a physical
toll than ever before.
‘‘It
takes me a while before it wants to work,’’
he said. ‘‘If I’m not
playing golf, it doesn’t hurt too
much. If I am playing golf, that’s
when it really hurts.’’
Nicklaus
was on hand to present the Nationwide’s
2003 player of the year award -- named in
his honor -- to Zach Johnson, who claimed
his first PGA Tour win this year at the
BellSouth Classic.
Looking
at the sculpture of a younger Nicklaus,
he quipped: ‘‘I was that thin
once?’’
Johnson
said Nicklaus was an idol to so many young
players.
‘‘He
was the man I looked up to in this game,’’
Johnson said.
Nicklaus
started strongly on the Champions Tour this
year, finishing sixth at the Mastercard
Classic with rounds of 68, 66 and 67. But
he’s only played two other Champion
events, none since March.
‘‘If
you’re not capable of winning, then
you’re just cluttering up the field.
That’s the way I look at it,’’
Nicklaus said. ‘‘Then again,
maybe my standards are a little higher.’’
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