Nicklaus Rains Birdies All Over Oakland Hills : Golf: His 65 ties a course record and beats Rodriguez by four strokes in playoff in the U.S. Senior Open.

On a rainy Monday, Jack Nicklaus became the second golfer to have won the top United States Golf Assn. events at all three major levels of the game. Perhaps fittingly, given the game’s lore, the club’s charter member was Arnold Palmer.

Nicklaus joined Palmer convincingly, winning the U.S. Senior Open by four strokes in a playoff with Chi Chi Rodriguez. Nicklaus’ five-under-par 65 matched the course record at Oakland Hills, which had allowed only 15 subpar scores over the four rounds of regulation play. Two-over-par 282 for the four rounds was good enough to get in the playoff.

The victory was added to Nicklaus’ championships in the U.S. Amateur (1959 and ‘61) and U.S. Open (1962, ‘67, ’72 and ‘80). Palmer won the U.S. Amateur in 1954, the U.S. Open in 1960 and U.S. Senior Open in 1981.

Rodriguez also broke par, shooting a 69.

“I don’t think anybody could have beaten him today,” Rodriguez said. “With a 69, you figure you can do pretty well. I never had a chance.”

Nicklaus had seven birdies on wet greens receptive to shots hit directly at the pin. He birdied three of the first five holes and was three under par and three shots ahead before play was held up for 1 hour 55 minutes by a thunderstorm.

When they returned to the sixth fairway with the rain still pounding, Nicklaus had a rare lapse. After reaching the green in regulation, he misjudged the speed on his putt of about 50 feet and left it about six feet short. He missed that one for a three-putt bogey.

Rodriguez made a 45-footer for birdie on the same hole for a two-shot swing.

“I’m thinking, OK, you had a three-shot lead and we get a delay and all of a sudden he’s back in it and that’s not what you want,” Nicklaus said.

So he did something about it. After leaving his second shot short on the seventh hole, he chipped in from about 60 feet for birdie.

“That turned it right around,” he said.

A two-shot swing on the eighth hole--Nicklaus birdied it, Rodriguez had a bogey--pretty well finished things.

At 51, Nicklaus became the only man to win major USGA titles in five decades. His victory Monday gives him a spot in the 1992 U.S. Open field.

Nicklaus had a chance to break the record set by George Archer in 1964 and tied by T.C. Chen in 1985 on the final hole but made bogey.

It was his second senior tour title this year. He won the PGA Seniors in April.

“I was trying hard to hunt him, but I ran out of bullets,” Rodriguez said. “I haven’t seen him play like that in 15 years. I thank him for not playing the senior tour all the time.”