THE MASTERS : This Year, Nobody Is Overlooking Mr. Nicklaus at Augusta

A year ago, the golf expert for the Atlanta Journal wrote off Jack Nicklaus’ chances to win the 50th Masters tournament. Nicklaus is done, the expert said, his clubs are rusty.

Nicklaus taped the article to his refrigerator, which, after he won on an inspirational last-day charge, became the sports world’s second-most famous Fridge.

“I kept thinking, ‘My clubs are not rusty, and I’m not done,’ ” Nicklaus said later.

Two days before today’s start of this year’s Masters, Nicklaus, 47, was invited to the Augusta National Golf Club’s press room, which was something of an event in itself.

Nicklaus was insulted last year, when, for the first time since he won the first of his six Masters championships in 1963, he was not invited to meet the press in Augusta to give an annual state-of-his-game address.

Although he interpreted it as a slight, it was intended as a sign of respect. No one figured he wanted to talk about his game. Who likes to talk about disasters?

The gaffe was not repeated this year, even though Nicklaus’ game is not much ahead of where it was 12 months ago.

When he arrived in the press room Tuesday, he was given the royal treatment befitting a defending champion and, more significantly, a contender.

The only person who expressed doubts about Nicklaus’ ability to win a seventh Masters championship was Nicklaus.

That was pointed out to him.

“There you go, putting words in my mouth,” Nicklaus said.

No one would dare.

“I’m not as good as I once was,” Nicklaus said, elaborating. “There’s no question about that. I know that. It’s obvious the guys who play against me know that, too.

“But I’m still going to be there occasionally. I’m going to have my moments where I can play good golf. I happened to find a pretty good moment last year at Augusta.

“I might find another one or two this year at the majors that might surprise myself. I might surprise a few other people.”

Nicklaus has been less than bearish this year. In his last two tournaments, he finished 71st at the Honda event and missed the cut at the Tournament Players Championship. In 14 rounds, he has shot par or better in half of them.

But, if we have learned anything from history, that means little in Nicklaus’ case.

Before last year’s Masters, he had missed the cut in three of six tournaments and finished no better than 39th in the others.

When Nicklaus was asked to relive his 1986 Masters championship, he acted as if he were tired of talking about history and ready to make more of it.

But he did say that it was the most cherished of his 21 championships in major tournaments.

“That one was the most special,” he said. “I didn’t take it for granted like I did in the ‘60s and ‘70s.”

Even if Nicklaus will not relive the past, we still can.

After three rounds, there was still no one who thought Nicklaus could win except perhaps for Nicklaus and his family.

Nicklaus said he got a call the morning of the final round from one of his sons, Steve, who asked Jack what he thought it would take to win.

“I think 66 would tie and 65 would win,” Nicklaus said.

“That’s the number I had in mind,” Steve said. “Go shoot it.”

Through eight holes, Nicklaus was even par for the day and four shots behind the leaders, Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman.

Nicklaus picked up two strokes on the leaders with birdies at 9, 10 and 11. But then he bogeyed 12.

“That may have been the one that really helped because it really made me determined to play the next few holes a little harder,” he said later.

Nicklaus hit a daring drive on 13, pulling the ball to the edge of the trees and bouncing it onto the fairway.

“Dad, that’s not good on a 24-year-old heart,” said his son, Jackie, who was caddying for him.

“That’s not good on a 46-year-old heart,” Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus two-putted for a birdie on 13, tying Norman and moving within two shots of Ballesteros, who was alone in front. When Nicklaus parred 14 and Ballesteros eagled 13, the Spaniard increased his lead to four shots over the six-time champion.

Then Nicklaus eagled 15.

“The old Bear is back,” CBS commentator Ben Wright said, almost drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

“Here we go,” Nicklaus said.

“Oh my gosh, look out,” Jackie said.

Nicklaus was in second place, two shots behind Ballesteros, two shots ahead of Norman and tied with Tom Kite.

While Nicklaus followed that with a birdie on 16, Ballesteros hit his second shot on 15 into the water and bogeyed. Nicklaus was tied for the lead at eight-under par with Ballesteros and Kite, who birdied 15.

Then, after an 18-foot birdie putt on 17, Nicklaus had the Masters lead to himself for the first time in 11 years.

“The ovation was unbelievable,” Nicklaus said of his walk up the 18th fairway. “The sound was deafening. I couldn’t hear a thing.

“Coming up the 18th hole is one of the great scenes in golf. Coming up the 18th hole at Augusta, I kept getting tears in my eyes. I said, ‘Hey, hold that back, you’ve still got some golf to play.’ ”

Nicklaus made his par to finish at nine under.

All he could do then was wait.

Ballesteros was the first to drop when he bogeyed 17 and fell two shots behind Nicklaus.

Then Kite barely missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 18 that would have tied him for the lead.

That left Norman, who had birdied 14, 15, 16 and 17, tying Nicklaus at nine under.

While Nicklaus watched on television in the locker room, Norman hit a bad approach shot on 18, knocked his third shot short and had a long putt for a par.

“The last time Greg holed one, I was sitting down,” Nicklaus said. “I thought I’d stand up this time. I never try to wish anyone bad luck. I don’t believe in that. I believe you do it with your golf clubs, not somebody else’s.”

But Nicklaus could not help but hope that Norman missed, which he did.

“What was nice about it was that I had the ability when I started making putts to keep playing,” Nicklaus said recently.

“I had total control of my body and my mind, and I knew what I was doing and had complete composure. I did it, and I did it without having anything unusual happen. Yes, it’s unusual to play the final 10 holes in seven under, but I was just making shot after shot.”

But this is another year.

In an attempt to retrieve some of the power he has lost, Nicklaus has been taking lessons from pro Phil Rodgers.

“Phil is very complex,” Nicklaus said. “He’ll give you 63 ways to shake hands. But he knows what he’s talking about.

“It took about two hours. All of a sudden, I’m hitting the ball with the club face. I had been wearing the heel of my driver out. I haven’t used the red part of the club in about four years. I’ve gotten about 20 yards back, which has renewed my interest.”

Thanks to contact lenses, which he is wearing for the first time, Nicklaus can now see where he is hitting the ball. For the last few years, he said the only way he knew whether he had hit a good drive or long iron was by the crowd’s reaction.

“I’m still quite capable of winning,” he said. “I think my chances are far less than they were 10 years ago.

“But I don’t think that’s important. The important thing is that if I happen to get myself in position, I still know how to win.”

No one would argue. Not even the experts.