Nicklaus Can’t Hide His Disappointment : U.S. Open: Third-round 77 takes four-time champion out of contention.

Jack Nicklaus finally acted his age.

For the record, he’s 54, nothing to be ashamed of but decades removed from Thursday in the U.S. Open, when he was 22 as soon as Barbara Nicklaus cast a spell on her husband as a joke.

Nicklaus shot 69 that day at Oakmont Country Club; he shot 77 Saturday when his years and the course caught up with him.

“I’m disappointed, sure, because I had a chance to win the national championship,” Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus shot himself out of any chance with a horrific round that took him from three shots off the lead and left him wilted in the rough, 10 shots behind Ernie Els with only 18 holes to go.

After his first 10 holes Saturday, Nicklaus was five over for the day, which meant only one thing for his U.S. Open hopes: “That was it.”

It was surprising to hear he thought he had a chance at winning the Open, since he had all but conceded missing the cut in an interview after playing poorly in a practice round Tuesday.

Nicklaus probably got caught up in the excitement after rounds of 69 and 70.

That could explain why Nicklaus was testy when he was asked how many more chances to win the Open he had left.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” he said. “Why do you ask that? I don’t know. I might feel great next year and do something great.”

He’s already done something great at the U.S. Open, which he has won four times. Even if Nicklaus won’t admit it, his chances for another are running out fast, if they haven’t disappeared already.

Nicklaus is playing his 38th U.S. Open, which is in its 94th year. That means Nicklaus has been in 40% of all U.S. Opens.

He leaned against a fence outside a trailer in which he had signed his name to a scorecard that read 77. The fence was beneath a grandstand at the 18th green and Nicklaus was twice drowned out by cheers from the stands.

“I didn’t hear that much for me all day,” he said.