Nicklaus Brings Back Rare Days of the 80s : Golf: He misses the cut with an 81 and hopes to get another special exemption for his 40th Open next year.

What do you say after you shoot an 81 at the U.S. Open?

If you’re Jack Nicklaus, you keep it simple.

“Not very good,” he said. “That simple. I just wasn’t very good.”

Actually, Nicklaus has never been worse at the U.S. Open. His 81 Friday at Shinnecock Hills, 11 over par, matched his previous worst round, which he established in the first round of the 1970 U.S. Open at Hazeltine.

It was just one of those days, said Nicklaus, 55, a four-time U.S. Open champion who last won it in 1980 at Baltusrol.

“I just struggled,” he said. “On the back side, I tried to make something happen and every time I tried to make something happen, it got worse. I think it’s that kind of golf course.”

Nicklaus missed the cut with his 36-hole total of 152.

Since he tied for eighth in 1986 at Shinnecock, Nicklaus’ best finish in the U.S. Open was last year when he tied for 28th at Oakmont after shooting 77-76 on the weekend.

Nicklaus, winner of 18 major titles, played in the same group with two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North and 1991 British Open champion, Ian Baker-Finch. In two days, the three were a combined 33 over par.

Besides Hazeltine and now Shinnecock, Nicklaus’ only other U.S. Open rounds in the 80s were when he shot consecutive 80s in his U.S. Open debut in 1957 at Inverness.

He said he knew he was in big trouble Friday after he bogeyed No. 12 because he had to make some birdies to escape the cut. It didn’t work out, but not through lack of effort.

“I hit some decent shots, believe it or not,” Nicklaus said. “I hit far more bad shots.”

Nicklaus gained a berth in the 1994 U.S. Open by virtue of his victory in the U.S. Senior Open. He played at Shinnecock with a special exemption granted by the U.S. Golf Assn., which runs the event.

Both the PGA Championship and the Masters carry lifetime exemptions for champions and the British Open exempts former champions through age 65. The USGA gives its champions 10-year exemptions, then passes out special exemptions.

Will Jack be back? Nicklaus said he will play in his 40th U.S. Open next year at Oakland Hills if he receives another special exemption.

“I’ll let the USGA make that call,” he said. “If they invite me, I’ll play.

“[A 40th U.S. Open] would be a nice round number to finish it off. I would hate to have what I did today be my last round at the U.S. Open.”