Golf / Shav Glick : Nicklaus Got Rid of the Gray Before Going After Another Green Jacket

In the continuing euphoria of winning his sixth Masters at 46, Jack Nicklaus is not afraid to admit that he is as vain as any of us moving along in years.

“I read a lot of nice things about me after Augusta, but I had to wonder about the one that called me silver-haired,” Nicklaus said, running a hand through his straw-colored locks. “I know I went to the Masters without a single gray hair. I know, because Barbara (Mrs. Nicklaus) pulled them all out!”

Before his audience could stop laughing, Nicklaus went on.

“Before I went to Baltusrol for the U.S. Open in ‘80, I was having a hard time facing 40. It was really difficult for me to admit it. I noticed a few gray hairs in my sideburns, so I pulled them out myself.

“This year, before we went to Augusta, the kids said I ought to get rid of the gray hairs that were back in my sideburns. There were about five or six on each side. The kids said they made me look like I was 46, so Barbara pulled them out.”

If that’s what it takes to win the U.S. Open at 40 and the Masters at 46, there may be a lot of players with tweezers in front of their mirrors before the next major championship.

The next one, of course, will be the 1986 U.S. Open next month at Shinnecock Hills Country Club in Southampton, N.Y., and before anyone else could bring up the subject of golf’s first professional Grand Slam, Nicklaus did.

“When I first heard the Open was going to be at Shinnecock, I thought that would be a nice place to play, but winning the Masters changed my entire outlook.

“The chance to get a second leg on the slam--as well as getting my fifth Open--has given me more incentive. If you win the Masters, you can’t help but think about the possibility of the slam. After all, you’re the only one in the running until next year.”

Nicklaus, whose Masters victory triggered an old-timers’ revival this year in which Bill Shoemaker, 54, won the Kentucky Derby and Bobby Allison, 48, won the Talladega 500, told a funny story on himself.

“I don’t follow horse racing, but like a lot of people, I was watching the Kentucky Derby,” he said.

“They were introducing the horses and riders when I heard the announcer say, ‘Bill Shoemaker is riding Ferdinand.’ I turned to Barbara and said, ‘I didn’t know he was still riding.’

“Barbara said, ‘That’s probably what people were saying about you before the Masters.’ The way I’d been playing, she’s probably right.”

Although he has been winning tournaments for 25 years and the Masters was his 20th major championship, Nicklaus said that nothing he did in the past caused the attention he received after Augusta.

“The mail has been tremendous,” he said. “I received a couple of thousand letters and telegrams, about two-thirds from people I didn’t know. So many of them tell the same story, that they were sitting at home, watching the last day on TV, and when it was over, they just had to write. It’s a very satisfying thought.”

Nicklaus said he spends about three hours a day reading his mail.

“I don’t mind that. The way they’re stacked up, it will probably take me another month before I read them all. It makes a nice way to finish off a busy day. I’d like to answer them, but that would be impossible.”

Nicklaus is here in the city where he grew up to prepare for his personal tournament, the Memorial, at the first course he built, Muirfield. The tournament will start May 22.

Southland Golf Notes The biggest local charity tournament of the year, the 16th annual Los Angeles Police-Celebrity, will be played Saturday at Rancho Park. George Peppard will be the host for the event, which will showcase 80 entertainment and sports celebrities. Unlike most tournaments, picture snapping and autograph signing will be encouraged as such stars as Hal Linden, George Lindsay, James Shigeta, George Gobel, Norm Crosby, Ted Knight and Jamie Farr scramble around Rancho’s fairways. Gate receipts will go to the Police Memorial Foundation, which provides assistance to officers and families in times of emergency.

April was a big month for Maggie Volz. First, she was crowned Miss Northridge and then she successfully defended her Porter Valley CC championship by defeating Lori Peardon by eight strokes. . . . Millie Stanley repeated as Wilshire CC champion, beating 12-time champion Donna Travis, 3 and 2. Stanley was even par for the 16 holes. . . . Frank Hardison will conduct an antique golf club evaluation clinic Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Ralph Miller Golf Library at Industry Hills. . . . Big events for the SoCal PGA: Senior-Junior tournament Monday at La Quinta CC, and Pro-President tournament May 19 at Wood Ranch GC.

The 69th L.A. City Men’s Amateur will be played June 7-8 and 14-15 at the Encino, Rancho Park, Wilson and Harding courses. Entries will close May 30. . . . The Group Fore women’s mini-tour will play a pro-am Monday and 54-hole tournament Tuesday through Thursday at Paradise Knolls GC in Riverside, then another pro-am Sunday at San Luis Rey Downs CC in Bonsall, followed by a 54-hole tournament. They will also play a pro-am May 22 at Circle R Ranch in Escondido. . . . The 62nd annual Cravens Invitational will be played Friday through Sunday at the San Gabriel CC, after qualifying Wednesday and Thursday.

The 16th annual U.S. National Senior Open Golf Assn. spring championship will start Tuesday at the Monterey, Mission Hills and Palm Valley courses near Palm Springs. . . . Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Public Links championship will be held May 19 at El Dorado GC in Long Beach. Qualifiers will play June 18-22 at Stevens Point, Wis. . . . Sarah Floyd of Tehachapi is serving her second term as president of the Western American Golf Assn. Vice president is Penny Halstead of La Verne. . . . Jones Gilliland and Joe Gordon shot a net 59 in winning Los Serranos’ partners best-ball tournament.

It’s charity tournament time: Jack Youngblood will have one Monday at Newport Beach CC (former Irvine Coast) for the John Tracy Clinic for deaf children; Rick Dees will hold his the same day at Bear Creek CC in Temecula for the Rancho California Volunteer Fire Dept; and Michael Marks’ Defeat Diabetes tournament is set for Monday at Riviera. . . . A week from Monday, the Raiders’ Howie Long will be the host for the 18th Multiple Sclerosis Executive Gold Crown tournament at Wilshire CC with Raider and Ram players participating along with former Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis.

The countdown to the U.S. Open will start Tuesday May 20 with local qualifying at Industry Hills CC. San Diego area players will qualify May 19 at Carmel Mountain Ranch. Survivors will play June 3 at San Francisco GC to make the field for the national tournament June 12-15, at Shinnecock Hills GC in Southampton, N.Y. . . . The San Bernardino Open will be played Thursday and Friday at Shandin Hills GC.