Interesting memory on golf course

Interesting memory on golf course

If Tiger Woods really was insecure enough to harbour any doubts about the possibility of a comeback victory at Augusta, then he should look no further than the 25-year-old footage on loop throughout Georgia this next week.Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters at the age of 46 and two months was the plus-foured Lazarus besides which all golfing resurrections will pale. Any pending Woods rebirth included.The United States loves an anniversary, as exemplified by the fuss made over this, the 75th staging of The Masters (just the 64 before you catch up with The Open then lads). Yet the Nicklaus nostalgia is completely understandable; if only Karrie Webb Wins In Golf Course Peacefully because it provides an excuse for the replays. As one of the honorary starters, Nicklaus will be there to stir the treacle. "People still come up and tell me where they were, how they missed flights in the airport to see the finish," says the 71-year-old. "They don't do that for any other of my 18 majors. Just the 1986 Masters."Nicklaus, who began the day four behind and the back nine five behind, played the inward half thus: birdie, birdie, bogey, birdie, par, eagle, birdie, birdie, par – 30 shots, equalling the Masters record.

Every second seemed defining, never mind every drive, iron, putt or celebration. The 12-footer for eagle on No 15 caused what Nick Price, the overnight leader by then playing in surreal isolation on the 13th, called "the loudest roar I ever heard on a golf course". Nobody argued.Yet perhaps it was the eruption which greeted his tee-shot on the 16th which better sums up the story. Nicklaus hit a five-iron on the 170-yard par three to within three feet. On the 15th fairway stood Seve Ballesteros, two shots clear of Tom Kite and odds-on for his third Green Jacket. The Spaniard duly cracked and his approach plopped in the water guarding the green. In that instant, poor Seve was shaken beyond repair.