Nicklaus Gives Gallery Another Run

The roars coming through the Georgia pines were unmistakable: Jack Nicklaus was in the hunt at the Masters.

At 58, he’s the Olden Bear, but Nicklaus’ closing 68 tied him for sixth and made Masters history. Nicklaus is the oldest player to finish in the top 10.

Nicklaus has 22 top-10 finishes in the Masters, which is another record, and his finish Sunday is his best since he was sixth in 1990.

Afterward, Nicklaus hinted he might not play any more at Augusta, where he has won six times, because his arthritic hip bothers him so much.

“I’d love to play until I was 100, Lord willing, but I think there’s a reasonable amount of time. I’m having an awful time walking.

“If it is my last round at Augusta, I couldn’t have had a nicer way to go out.”

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At least he finished in the top 10. Tiger Woods tied for eighth with rounds of 71-72-72-70, 285, 15 shots off what he shot last year.

But Woods wasn’t upset.

“I got every ounce of what I had this week,” he said. “I squeezed the towel dry. I’m proud of the way I hung in there.”

Woods seemed to be more impressed with Nicklaus’ finish than his own.

“To see Jack do this is pretty neat,” Woods said.

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For what it’s worth, Mark O’Meara’s victory happened on his 15th trip to the Masters, the most of any first-time champion. O’Meara’s prize money was $576,000, up from Woods’ total of $486,000 from last year.

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If it’s any consolation to Fred Couples, the 485-yard par-five 13th hole was the toughest one to play at the Masters in 1998. Couples made double-bogey there Sunday.

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Add O’Meara: He is on the list of Masters winners who never led a round. The others are Couples in 1992, Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, George Archer in 1969 and Doug Ford in 1957.

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You would have to say that David Toms came out of nowhere to tie for sixth with Nicklaus. The 31-year-old from Shreveport, La., who was playing in his first Masters, finished with an eight-under 64.

Toms shot a Masters record-tying 29 on the back nine and made six consecutive birdies from No. 12 through No. 17 to tie the Masters record. What’s more, his 64 tied the lowest closing round in Masters history with four others, most recently Greg Norman in 1978.

It should be noted that Tom played the back nine in seven-under Sunday. He played it in seven-over the first three days.

“I think I’ll always remember the roars,” Toms said.

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The low 24 scores get invitations into next year’s Masters. Stewart Cink, John Huston and Jeff Maggert made it, tying for 23rd. Brad Faxon and David Frost missed by a shot.

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Matt Kuchar, the 19-year-old amateur from Georgia Tech, was the first amateur to finish in the top 24 since Sam Randolph in 1985. Kuchar tied for 21st.