U.S. OPEN : A Restless Spirit at Jack’s Place : Nicklaus, U.S. Open Return This Week to Baltusrol Where Golfer Won Two Titles

Walk through the clubhouse and locker room at the Baltusrol Golf Club and one man’s picture dominates the decor.

This is Jack’s Place.

Jack Nicklaus won the U.S. Open here in 1967 in a record-setting performance and revived his career here 13 years later in another one for the books.

But there’s a slightly different atmosphere for the tournament that begins Thursday at Baltusrol.

First of all, there’s the clubhouse, a little bit of Britain transplanted almost within sight of the towers of Manhattan. It resembles an English country manor house: stately, gracious, elegant, subdued.

And--if a popular local myth is to be believed--it comes complete with a 19th century ghost. After all, what’s a manor house without a ghost?

A wealthy farmer named Baltus Roll, whose home was on the site of the current club, was murdered by thieves in 1831. Club members do nothing to dispell suggestions that his restless spirit still haunts the halls of Baltusrol.

Nicklaus returns to Baltusrol this week for his 37th consecutive Open--not expecting another title but wondering if this will be his last appearance.

The 53-year-old Nicklaus needed a special exemption from the U.S. Golf Assn. to avoid having to qualify, and he isn’t sure how many more exemptions there will be despite his four Open wins.

Nicklaus, a winner of 70 PGA and five Senior PGA events, has not won on the PGA Tour since the 1986 Masters. The 1991 U.S. Senior Open was his last win overall.

“I suppose I have enough of an ego to believe I can still play a little bit,” Nicklaus said. “I like the competition. Tennis, golf, ping-pong, I don’t care. I love the competition. I don’t have anything I like better than tournament golf.”

And for Nicklaus, nothing has been better than U.S. Opens at Baltusrol.

In 1967, Nicklaus captured his second Open by shooting a final-round 65 to win a head-to-head showdown with Arnold Palmer. His 72-hole total of 275 was a shot better than the previous mark set in 1948 by Ben Hogan.

Thirteen years ago, Nicklaus won his record-tying fourth Open title by coming up big in another showdown, this one with Isao Aoki of Japan. The two started the final round tied for the lead and Nicklaus won by shooting 68 for a 272, still the Open record.

“I haven’t done any thinking about Baltusrol,” Nicklaus said. “This may sound crazy to you, but I’ve won the golf tournament there twice and I couldn’t tell you the golf course. I get lost after the fifth hole, until about 13, 14 and 15. It’s ridiculous, as many times as I’ve played that golf course I still get mixed up.”

Just as quickly, Nicklaus notes:

“Now if you were to put a little course map down in front of me, I’d probably tell you where I played every shot.”

For the most part, Nicklaus said he has been able to hit the ball where he wants. But his putting has been a problem and he has been having trouble with his hips and shoulders.

The result has been a disappointing year.

On the PGA Tour, Nicklaus has played in six events, missing the cut in three. His best finish was a tie for 10th at the Doral Ryder Open. He was 27th in the Masters and next to last in his own Memorial Tournament last weekend.

Nicklaus has been more competitive on the Senior Tour. He has two ties for ninth place and a tie for 28th in three events.

“The reason I played both--foolish or not--I still have in the back of my mind that I have a major sitting there somewhere,” Nicklaus said. “That someday something is going to come out of my golf game and keep going.”

Fellow senior Lee Trevino said Nicklaus is capable of winning another major.

“As good a player as he is, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Trevino said. “I mean, you’re talking about the greatest player that’s ever played the game. Just because he’s 53 years old, that doesn’t mean anything. He still plays like he’s a 35-year-old.”

Nicklaus thinks he’ll get another special exemption for next year’s Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, where he won his first Open in 1962, beating Palmer in a playoff.

But Nicklaus said he doesn’t want to continue playing in U.S. Opens unless he can be competitive. Last year at Pebble Beach he wasn’t, shooting 151 and missing the cut by four shots.