As Nicklaus Shapes Up, His Game Gets Stronger

Jack, if recent performances are any indication, is back.

Jack Nicklaus, named golfer of the century by the Associated Press, had been winless as a professional since 1996 and struggled with his game after hip replacement surgery in January of this year.

But he broke out of the slump this month by teaming with son Gary to win the Father and Son Challenge Dec. 4-5 at Twin Eagles Golf and Country Club in Naples, Fla., then teaming with Tom Watson to win the Diners Club Matches last weekend at Pelican Hill.

The latter included a show-stopping 62 by Nicklaus.

“The last few years I’ve been playing on one leg,” Nicklaus said. “When I started back in the middle of this year, I wasn’t strong enough to support what I was asking my body to do. I’m stronger than I’ve been in quite a few years right now and as a result I think my golf game is reflecting that.”

Nicklaus, whose official career-best professional round was a 62 in 1973, downplayed the significance of his 62 at Pelican Hill because the best-ball, match-play format allowed him to pick up several three- or four-foot putts but said that did not detract from the way he was hitting the ball.

Nicklaus, who will turn 60 in January, said that as he continues to get into better shape and recover from the surgery on his left hip, he is rediscovering certain nuances of his swing that made him the most dominant player in the world for nearly two decades.

“As I’ve come back and gotten enough strength to where I can support myself weight-wise, it’s amazing every day it seems like I find something and say, ‘Gosh, I used to do that,’ ” he said. “I haven’t been able to get out of my own way for a lot of years and I have to relearn what I used to do. I still feel awkward in some areas over the ball, but my muscle memory from years ago is starting to come back and starting to fall into my golf swing.

“Because of my hip, I couldn’t swing properly for a long time and I [compensated for it]. Now my hip will allow me to get in a position I should be in.”

Nicklaus has said he intends to increase the number of PGA Tour events he will play next year to spend more time with Gary, who earned his 2000 PGA Tour card last month.

But the Golden Bear’s recent performances indicate that he might be making a run at some of those events.

“I feel much better and I feel stronger,” he said. “I’ve got more power and I’m driving the ball much stronger when I catch it somewhere near the face.”

Look out Augusta.

WORK TO DO

On the day after the Diners Club Matches, tournament director Gary Pollard took a hard look at how the event had fared at the gate.

“It kind of gagged me yesterday,” Pollard said Tuesday. “We’re looking at what can we do to change and make it better. We are looking at what do we need to do.”

Pollard estimated that about 3,000 were on hand for Saturday’s first-round matches and 5,000-6,000 for Sunday’s finals won by Nicklaus and Watson, Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia and Juli Inkster and Dottie Pepper. Pollard had planned for 10,000 spectators each day.

But the news wasn’t all bad, Pollard said. The sponsors were pleased with the picturesque shots of the course and the coastline during ABC’s live broadcast of the made-for-TV event. And feedback from people who came to the event has been mostly positive.

“We got a lot of calls here from people who were watching it on TV and then realized it was live,” Pollard said Sunday after the event. “They started calling us and said, ‘You mean they’re playing the Diners Club Matches at Pelican Hill right now? Can I come out and watch tomorrow?’

“I think that helped a lot as far as boosting up our gallery today.”

The calls also pointed out to Pollard the marketing work he must do next year if the event returns to Pelican Hill. He got a late start in 1999, taking the job in May and only starting to publicize the tournament in mid-August.

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Staff writer Martin Beck contributed to this story.