Six-time Masters winner Jack Nicklaus certainly earned his guest membership at Augusta National Golf Club – one which allows the Golden Bear to play one of the world’s most famous and exclusive courses as much (or as little) as he’d like.
Nicklaus won all of his Green Jackets between the age of 23 and 46, becoming the then-youngest and – still to this day – the oldest man ever to do it.
Now, as an 84-year-old, Nicklaus does not frequent the rolling hills of Augusta National anywhere near as much as he used to, having last played the actual tournament in 2005 and retired from joining in the par-3 contest in 2022.
Arguably Ohio’s most-famous resident performed honorary starter duties once more before Scottie Scheffler’s second Masters victory – with wife Barbara carrying a truly unique ‘FlagBag’ for her husband.
But Nicklaus did admit, during a media event ahead of the upcoming Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village on Wednesday, that he stayed behind after the most-recent Masters to tee it up a handful more times.
Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara (left), Tom Watson (centre), and Gary Player (right) pose for a photo during the Honorary Starters ceremony prior to the first round of the 2024 Masters.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, Nicklaus admitted he cannot quite hit the ball as far as he used to in his prime and went on to joke that his three-round total would have been “a pretty good four-round score.”
He said: “I shot 88, 90 and 91. That’s a 269 for three rounds, which is a pretty good four-round score. That’s what I play anymore. They don’t have any forward tees at Augusta. I can’t play 6,400 yards. I hit the ball 190 yards anymore, if I kill it. I played once last year, once the year before, and I’ve played four times this year already.”
Nicklaus’ lowest winning score at The Masters came in 1965 during his second success – 271 got it done over Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who were left trailing by an extraordinary nine shots.
Meanwhile, his single-lowest round ever at the first men’s Major of the year also arrived that year, in the third round, with a 64 going a long way to Nicklaus’ sizeable success.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arguably the greatest golfer of all time insists he does not get out to play very much at all anymore, though,…
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