Weather Gets Best Of Jack

Jack Nicklaus was reduced to mumbling as he climbed the last hill of the day. The 18th green, site of so many great triumphs at Augusta National, was off in the distance.

Stepping past a 4-foot limb, impaled in the middle of the fairway in the most striking testament to the strong wind, Nicklaus replayed the whole dismal day in his mind, shot by shot, trying to figure out how he managed his worst round ever in the Masters.

"Let's see," he groused Saturday to his caddie and son, Jackie. "Good shot at 10. Good shot at 11. Good shot at 12. Good shot at 13. Good shot at 14. Good shot at 15. I hit a bad one at 16. But a good shot at 17."

Jackie jumped in.

"Well, you hit a good shot at 18, too," he said. "Let's get a birdie."

Not on this day, when Augusta felt more like St. Andrews. From the middle of the fairway, Nicklaus put his next shot into the gallery behind the green, where he jokingly offered his club to a rules official. Rebuffed, Nicklaus chipped within 4 feet of the flag, missed the putt and took yet another bogey.

With that, it was done - the highest score ever posted beside the Nicklaus name at Augusta. Instead of charging, the Golden Bear collapsed to a 9-over-par 81, two shots more than he's ever required to get around this fabled piece of real estate.

He had no complaints about the way he played, remembering only two bad shots all day. But with wind gusting to as much as 42 mph, the 60-year-old Nicklaus never stood a chance.

"It's very difficult to hit the hood of a Volkswagen, which is essentially what we were trying to do out there," he said. "I'm not as good as I used to be. These conditions are tough on me. I would have handled them better years ago."

On Friday, Nicklaus tantalized those fans who come back year after year, yelling "Go get 'em, Jack!" and hoping against hope that he'll somehow win a seventh green jacket. By shooting a 70, he become the oldest man to break par at Augusta since Sam Snead in 1975 and was on the fringe of contention with a two-round total of 144 six shots behind leader David Duval.

But, with Nicklaus just minutes from his 12:30 p.m. tee time Saturday, the threat of lightning prompted officials to halt play. Shortly afterwards, it began to rain. Two hours would pass before the six-time Masters champion struck his first shot.

Nicklaus played the front nine in colder temperatures, a steady drizzle and relatively tame wind by Augusta standards. But, just before he made the turn with a 1-over 37, a frosty front rolled through the Georgia pines.

"The first time I really noticed it was at 9," he said. "It was hard to putt."
Things would only get worse. Nicklaus bogeyed 10 and lost all hope of contention with a triple bogey in the heart of Amen Corner. His 6-iron at the par-3 12th caught a burst of wind and landed in a back bunker. He needed two shots to escape the sand and three-putted once he made the green.

Bedeviled once again by the wind, his second shot at 13 wound up in the creek, resulting in another bogey. He bogeyed three of his final five holes, as well.

"I've never seen a day like this at Augusta," Nicklaus said. "This was by far the toughest. I've never been a great wind player, but I couldn't even stand up."

Strolling toward the warm, inviting clubhouse, Nicklaus couldn't resist a chance to take one last poke at the weather. Turning to find his son amid the crowd, the Golden Bear said, "I'll meet you at the range. Let's go hit a few hundred balls."

"Sure," Jackie replied, knowing better than anyone that his father had seen enough of Augusta National on this day.

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