Word: nicklaus
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...clear measure of Nicklaus' greatness that he shot a four-under-par 68 in the first round, when the wind was blowing in gusts up to 30 m.p.h. It was a measure of his state of mind that he soared to a 76 next day, three-putting five greens. Grimly telling himself to "concentrate! concentrate!", he pulled his game together for a third-round 72 that tied him for the lead with Tommy Jacobs...
...haven't played well enough to have a shot at winning," said Nicklaus, going into the fourth round. Even so, he came within a hairbreadth. On the 400-yd. 17th hole he laid his No. 9-iron second shot just 40 in. from the hole. Incredibly, he bungled the birdie putt. On the 420-yd. 18th, his second shot left him 40 ft. from the pin; his long curling putt for a birdie slid an inch past the cup. The tap-in gave him an even-par 288, locked him in a three-way tie with Jacobs...
...Matter of One-Half Inch. Most golfers would have gone to bed with a pill and a prayer for the morrow. Not Nicklaus, the perfectionist. What, exactly, was wrong on those two missed putts? He got his answer studying a TV rerun. "I had my eyes outside the ball," he said. It took a few minutes of intense practice to adjust his stance-a matter of about one-half inch. Beaming broadly, he strode onto the first tee for next day's play-off and slammed his opening drive...
...Brewer, the match was over quickly: he three-putted on the second hole, wound up with a 78. Jacobs' undoing was the tenth: he chipped short, two-putted for a bogey. That gave Nicklaus a stroke-which he increased to two by rolling in a 25-ft. birdie putt on the eleventh green. Finally, only the tree-lined 18th was left. "Two shots can disappear awfully fast," Nicklaus reminded himself, and he decided to play it safe-aiming his drive straight into the jampacked gallery on the left. Then he hit his only really bad shot...
...victory ceremony, there was an awkward moment: tradition calls for the defending champion to help the new champion into the winner's green blazer. "Fellows," said Nicklaus, "I'll put my own coat...