SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Is Jack Nicklaus a better human being than golfer?
Apr 5, 2018, 11:53 AM | Updated: Apr 10, 2018, 5:58 pm
Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus, left, three-time Masters champion Gary Player starting with a kick, and two-time Masters champion Tom Watson leave the first tee during the Par-3 Contest at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Wednesday, April 4, 2018. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
(Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
The Masters starts today in Augusta, Georgia. If you’re not a golf fan, it’s the first major tournament of the year at one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world.
I’ve never been but would love to see it in person someday.
While the sporting world will be watching the return of Tiger Woods with great enthusiasm, I was completely charmed by a moment on Wednesday.
It was during the Par-3 tournament they run before the real tournament begins. One of the threesomes was 82-year-old Gary Player who has won the Master’s prized Green Jacket three times; Tom Watson, 68, who’s won twice; and the greatest golfer of all time Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus, The Golden Bear, as he is known by golf fans everywhere, is 68 and is the all-time leader in majors won and Masters wins with 6 Green Jackets.
That’s quite a group, and I’m sure the fans were eating it up. Jack Nicklaus asked his 15-year-old grandson Gary to caddy for him. On the final hole, Jack gave Gary a club from his bag and invited him to take a swing.
Gary, wearing the traditional white caddy’s jumpsuit and green Master’s hat with the word Nicklaus across the back shoulders, stepped up to his Golden Bear golf ball and promptly hit a beautiful shot over the water that landed 20 yards beyond the hole with backspin. Then, as the three Hall of Fame legends cheered, Gary’s ball spun backward and trickled into the cup for his very first hole-in-one. The giant gallery exploded with a roar, and Gary ran over to embrace his Grandpa Jack.
A few moments later, Jack tweeted, “With all due respect to @themasters, allow me to put my 6 Green Jackets in the closet for a moment and say that I don’t know if I have had a more special day on a golf course. To have your grandson make his first hole-in-one on this stage…. WOW! #Family #memoryofalifetime”
Jack Nicklaus was a genius on the golf course. He was the greatest golfer that has ever played. But is it possible that he might be an even better human being?
To quote the great golf announcer Verne Lundquist, “Yes sir!”
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