Word: nicklauses
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Popularity should be no problem when you're 25, personable, and a full-fledged millionaire. But it has been for Jack Nicklaus, who has never attracted the enthusiastic throngs who root for his rivals. "I don't know why," he puzzles. "Maybe people resented my coming up so young and winning so fast...
...worried about his wife, who's expecting their third child, and bothered by his back, which was aching so badly that he wore a special orthopedic lift in one shoe (his right leg is 1 in. shorter than the left). Nicklaus, however, was the 4-1 betting favorite over the likes of four-time Champion Arnold Palmer (6-1) and South Africa's Gary Player (8-1), who had worked himself into a fine frenzy for the Masters by lifting weights, eating wheat germ, and boning up on Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking...
...Palmer. And so was Nicklaus. Pro golf's Big Three already had a few things in common: a TV show (Big Three Golf) and the same attorney, business manager and agent (who has a lot in common, too, since he's all the same person). After two days at the Masters, they shared something else: the lead, at six under par. "Disgusting!" said one pro. "Show-offs!" huffed another. They hadn't seen anything yet. Warming up for the third round, Nicklaus belted six drives the length (280 yds.) of the practice tee, sending each soaring over...
...wondrous holes that followed did Jack fail to hit a green in regulation figures. Five times, by his own estimate checked against a detailed chart of the course that he kept in his back pocket, he drove 350 yds. or more. "My adrenalin is running strong," Nicklaus beamed. "I'm all pumped up inside." The longest club he used for a second shot all day-even on the four par-five holes-was a No. 3 iron. And his putting? On the second hole, Jack rolled in a 22-footer for a birdie. On the fourth, he sank...
...Nicklaus' new smile became almost a fixture. The gallery knew a winner when it saw one: on the last day, an admiring crowd of 25,000 turned out to trail Jack around the course. Tied with Player for second place at eight under par, Arnie Palmer buttonholed Tournament Director Clifford Roberts. "Mr. Roberts," he cracked, "how about letting Gary and me double our scores so we can have a playoff with Jack?" Even that wouldn't have been enough. Sporting a floppy white hat for which he had to shell out $6.50 at the pro shop ("it would...