Nicklaus, Watson Confident They’ll Be Tough Team to Beat

Jack Nicklaus never has played in Orange County’s senior tour event and because he plays a limited Senior PGA Tour schedule, he probably won’t any time soon. But local fans will have a chance for a Golden Bear sighting next month at Pelican Hill.

Nicklaus will team with longtime friend and rival Tom Watson in the Diners Club Matches Dec. 11-12. They will be among 24 PGA Senior, PGA and LPGA tour players competing for $1.2 million in the team match-play event. It’s another of those made-for-TV productions that have been lumped together as silly-season events, but Nicklaus said he takes all competition seriously.

“Any time you play you want to win,” Nicklaus said Tuesday during a conference call from Las Vegas. “I certainly don’t want to play poorly for Tom and Tom doesn’t want to play poorly for me. I don’t think we would have the records we have if we didn’t want to win [no matter] when you tee it up.”

Nicklaus and Watson, of course, haven’t just wanted to win in their careers. Nicklaus won 18 majors, including six Masters; Watson won eight majors, including five British Opens. They also played some of their best golf in the same tournaments.

In one of the finest finishes to a British Open, Watson and Nicklaus battled head-to-head for the final 36 holes at Turnberry in 1977. Watson won by shooting 65-65 to Nicklaus’ 66-65.

Then there was the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which Watson won by two strokes over Nicklaus after sinking an improbable chip shot on the 17th hole.

There was never rancor in their relationship and they made a formidable team, undefeated in Ryder Cup play and rarely beaten in unofficial money matches before tournaments.

Of course, they aren’t the players they once were. Nicklaus will be 60 in January and is recovering from hip replacement surgery. Watson, 50, is getting ready for his first full year on the senior tour after winning his second event as a senior in September.

Together, however, they plan to be tough.

“I think we’re about 12-1, aren’t we?” Watson asked Nicklaus during the conference call. “We never lost a match in Ryder Cup and I don’t know how many times when we were paired as partners we ever lost.

“Not very often,” Nicklaus said.

“Not very often is right,” Watson said.

THE FIELD

The complete field for Diners Club Matches is as follows. PGA Tour: Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia, Steve Pate and Mark Wiebe and Chris Perry and Skip Kendall and defending champions Steve Elkington and Jeff Maggert.

LPGA Tour: Karrie Webb and Kelly Robbins, Nancy Lopez and Kelli Kuehne, Annika Sorenstam and Lorie Kane and defending champions Juli Inkster and Dottie Pepper.

Senior PGA Tour: Nicklaus and Watson, Bruce Fleisher and David Graham, Allen Doyle and Dana Quigley and defending champions Gil Morgan and Jay Sigel.

TOUGH TWOSOME

Fresh from a successful season on the PGA European Seniors Tour, Irvine’s Ray Carrasco and Laguna Niguel’s Alan Tapie are turning their attention to the lucrative North American senior tour.

So far so good. Carrasco finished first and Tapie second in the first stage of the PGA Senior Tour qualifying last week. Carrasco, playing at Desert Dunes Golf Club in Desert Hot Springs, shot seven-under-par 281 and defeated runner-up Greg Edwards by five strokes.

Tapie, playing in Rio Rico, Ariz., also shot seven-under 281, finishing two strokes behind Butch Sheehan. Also at Rio Rico, Newport Beach’s Jimmy Adams shot three-over 291 and Rick Talt of Laguna Beach shot 293 and both failed to advance to the final qualifying tournament starting Nov. 30 at Tucson National.

Tapie and Carrasco had outstanding years in Europe and have qualified to play there next year. Tapie won an event in France and finished fifth on the money list with 91,648 euros ($94,367). Carrasco finished 16th on the list with 68,474 euros.

Carrasco said the 14 European events he played have helped hone his game and steeled him to competition. Furthermore, he had such a great experience in Europe that he wouldn’t mind going back if he failed to make the U.S. tour.

“I’m in a wonderful position in that I have a place to play,” he said. “It was so relaxing knowing that it’s not such a crucial event.”