Nicklaus Wins by Four Shots at Tradition : Golf: First appearance on senior tour gives him confidence heading into the Masters.

Jack Nicklaus is halfway to the first goal he has set for himself in a decade.

Nicklaus, whose ambition is to be the first to win on the Senior PGA Tour and on the regular tour in the same season, breezed to a four-stroke victory in the $800,000 Tradition Sunday on the Cochise course at Desert Mountain.

Although Bruce Crampton and Gary Player both made runs at him, Nicklaus took over the lead with a sensational birdie on the fifth hole, a 408-yard, par-four, and he was never challenged thereafter.

Nicklaus birdied three of the last six holes and finished with a four-under-par 68. His 206 total for three rounds was 10 under par.

Player shot a final-round 70, but lost ground and finished at 210. Crampton and Charles Coody tied for third at 212.

Encouraged by his finish, Nicklaus said he was looking forward to the Masters and felt he could contend. He also said he would play in several senior tournaments.

After sinking a birdie putt on No. 9 to stretch his lead to three strokes, the only difficulty he encountered was the weather. A rainstorm wiped out Thursday’s round and shortened the tournament to 54 holes. During the final round it was lightning, which arrived as Nicklaus bogeyed No. 12. Play was halted for a little more than an hour.

The victory, worth $120,000, came after three dismal performances on the regular tour. Among other things, it gave Nicklaus confidence in his bid to win another Masters.

Despite the cold and rainy week, Nicklaus, thanks in no small part to the coaching of Jim Flick, hit some prodigious shots. He had several drives measuring between 320 and 345 yards, one-irons more than 230 yards, a seven-iron 190 and a three-wood 250. Even the youngsters on the regular tour don’t get any more distance.

Nicklaus changed his format to protect the two-shot lead he had entering the final 18 holes. He built his lead with bold shots on the par fives, playing them seven under par, while going one over on the par fours. But Sunday, he mostly played the long holes conservatively and it cost him two bogeys. But he overcame that by getting four birdies on par fours.

The biggest birdie was on the 408-yard fifth hole. His drive wound up in high grass on the bank of a fairway trap. With a seven-iron, Nicklaus put the next shot 10 feet past the hole, then sank the putt for a birdie.

Nicklaus said he didn’t know what he would do Sunday after going so long without being in contention on the last day. He just wanted to keep his composure.

The first hole ended his worries. He hit a drive of almost 300 yards on the par four. Then, his nine-iron landed one-inch from the cup, hit the flag and was two feet away. He sank the putt and was on his way.

Lee Trevino, who finished with a 72 despite a quadruple bogey on the short, difficult No. 6, hit his blind second shot into rocks in the wasteland. He said he sank a good putt for his eight.

Asked if he thought Nicklaus had a good chance to win the Masters, Trevino slowly shook his head. “The way he’s hitting the ball, he’ll finish high, but I don’t think he can beat the juniors,” he said. “He certainly will be more confident after this week.”

Crampton, Player and Phil Rodgers went into the last round two shots behind. Rodgers faded out quickly. He has not won a tournaments in 24 years. And, being paired with two of the sport’s greats, Nicklaus and Player, probably was too much to handle.

Crampton, thanks to a lucky bounce on his approach at one and a 35-foot putt on two, caught up by the fourth hole. But the 358-yard sixth did him in, too. His approach was in the rocks on the left and he doubled-bogeyed.

Player, just missing on several putts, was within a shot when Nicklaus bogeyed No. 4. But he couldn’t cope with the relentless, determined drive of Nicklaus.

Nicklaus became the fourth player in the history of the young tour for old golfers to win first time out. Arnold Palmer did it in 1980, Player in 1985 and George Archer last year. “I really enjoyed the way I was treated and I’m going to play often on this tour,” Nicklaus said. “As for Augusta, I think I’m ready for it. This is a good course to prepare for the Masters.”

Player, who was in the Nicklaus trio the last two rounds, likes Nicklaus’ chances next week.

“In the first place,” Player said, “no matter what anyone else says, Jack is the greatest golfer that ever lived. Augusta has the same kind of shallow greens. He’s hitting the ball great and today, he putted brilliantly. He didn’t win all that easily. I had several chances. On 11 I had a chance to cut the lead to two shots. But I missed a 12-footer for birdie and Jack rammed in a downhill 10-footer to save par.”

Before joining the 50-and-older set, Nicklaus rapped it as being good for marginal players he used to beat on the regular tour.

After his first tournament, he felt differently. “I feel real good about the way I was treated. I really enjoyed it.”

Some seniors were upset about Nicklaus’ earlier remarks. But, as the great pitcher Dizzy Dean said, “It ain’t bragging if you go out and do it.”

Senior Golf Notes

Arnold Palmer, trying to shake a slump, shot a 78 and finished at 229. He said next week at the Masters was when he wanted to emerge. Palmer might have to skip several tournaments if a lawsuit involving one of the courses he built goes to trial in Orlando. “They claim it could last up to six weeks,” he said. . . . Barbara Nicklaus walked quietly and largely unnoticed around the course following her husband, Jack. She was wearing a white pullover sweater with a big Jack of Hearts playing card emblem across the front.

The past two days there were pickets outside the entrance to the course protesting the use of too much water at the complex. Desert Mountain has signs warning that reclaimed water is used to water greens and fairways. . . . Defending champion Don Bies was never a threat. He shot a 72 on the final round and finished at 220.