July 15, 2005

HOCKEY’S BACK, TIGER’S SMOKING…BUT THIS IS JACK’S WEEK

      Say hello to hockey…say goodbye to Jack.  As the Golden Bear walked up the eighteenth fairway for the final time in his competitive golf career, and paused for several minutes—and many photo ops—as he crossed the Swilken Bridge the memories of a long and illustrious career clicked through my mind.  There are a great many moments in a career that spanned five decades, such as his battles with Tom Watson, his many major victories and, of course, his Masters win at age 46, but the one moment I remember most is one moment Jack has likely long forgotten.

       I don’t remember the year—it was sometime in the late seventies or early eighties--and I don’t remember who won--it wasn’t Jack--but I remember one specific hole that made Jack look like anything but the game’s greatest player. 

      It was the Canadian Open championship at the Glen Abbey Golf Course—a tournament Jack competed in numerous times but never won.  It was the final round and, naturally, Jack was in the hunt for the title when he reached the par three fifteenth hole.  Now the hole seems simple enough—a straight shot from about 150 yards to a large green that, outside of the trees far behind it, didn’t have any perceivable danger.  The hazard on this hole was the green’s two levels, and its rather sizeable undulation—a downward slide back toward the tee that began, on this day just a couple of yards back of the pin placement.  It made this hole rather treacherous and to succeed the players needed to shoot with pin-point accuracy from the tee. 

       Jack’s tee shot just barely made it to the top of the swale, but the ball spun back slightly, caught the edge of the hill and ran all the way back off the green.  Jack was obviously perturbed by his misfortune as he approached his first putt.  He gave it a good whack and watched as the ball ran up the hill.  The ball appeared about to make it to the top of the hill when it suddenly lost its speed.  It rolled all the way back to Jack.  Nicklaus took another shot at it and this time the ball looked to have enough momentum to make it up the hill, but the ball stopped at its zenith and, just when it looked like it would stay, the ball slowly began to roll back.  It picked up speed and finally came to rest at Jack’s feet.  By now an angry and frustrated Golden Bear took a powerful swing and drove the ball up and over the swale, and over the green.  Being careful not to putt the ball back down the swale Jack took three cautious putts to hole out.  For the greatest player ever the tournament ended at that one hole. 

       When he walked off the green Jack smiled.  He knew that he had just lost again in his attempt to win a tournament he desperately wanted to add to his collection—but he smiled and joked with his playing partner and his caddie.  The man always put the game in its proper perspective.  We may never see his level of class and sportsmanship again.

       We will all miss you, Jack.