TNT Silence Is Golden in Nicklaus’ Farewell

Two career courses collided on the 18th fairway Friday on the Old Course, the record holder trudging reluctantly to the finish, the challenger trying aggressively to close the gap.

While Jack Nicklaus prepared to take his next-to-last shot at the British Open, TNT flashed a graphic of the leaderboard, which was topped by Tiger Woods, then on No. 15, 11 under par for the tournament.

“Oh, by the way,” Ernie Johnson voiced over the graphic, “Tiger with a par at 15. A story which has taken a serious backseat to what we are watching here at 18.”

When Nicklaus three-putted on 17, it became official: Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 major tournaments, would not be making the cut, making the 18th hole at St. Andrews on Friday his last in a major tournament.

Nicklaus delayed the end as long as he could, waving to the crowd after striking his tee shot, then stopping atop the Swilcan Bridge in the middle of the fairway to pose for photographers. The photo session soon expanded to a group shot, as Nicklaus motioned for his son and caddie Steve to join him, eventually followed by playing partners Tom Watson and Luke Donald and their caddies.

TNT’s crew, knowing their place, kept their mouths shut and their cameras trained on Nicklaus. This last reel of Nicklaus’ legendary career played like a silent movie. No hyperbole. No painful straining for a clumsy stab at eloquence. No talking at all, just a slow-moving montage of images of Nicklaus grappling with his emotions and interacting with the gallery.

It was a memorable moment for Nicklaus and TNT, both rising to the occasion.

At the risk of pushing our luck, here’s hoping executives from ESPN and Fox were watching and someone was taking notes for them.

As a camera shot showed a red-eyed Nicklaus wiping away tears before his second shot, Johnson broke the silence: “How the heck do you hit a golf shot after that?”

Johnson was confronted with his own dilemma: How to describe the final moments of perhaps the greatest career in golf history?

As Nicklaus closed his round at par 72 by rolling in a birdie putt, Johnson yelped, “What a way to end a career! He began the week and ended the week with birdies!”

With more shots of Nicklaus and family members hugging and shedding tears, Johnson got choked up as well.

“Not a dry eye in the country,” he said, emotion creeping into his voice.

“Classic. Timeless. Unforgettable.... This place, this moment and this man. You’ll hear from him when we come back.”

With that, TNT cut to a commercial. Johnson, for one, needed the break to compose himself. TNT’s coverage continued with Jim Huber interviewing Nicklaus, who candidly admitted he was glad he didn’t make the cut.

“As I was coming down the last couple holes, and as nice as the people were, I was sitting there and saying, ‘You know, I don’t really think I want to make the cut,’ ” Nicklaus said. “Now that’s sort of a funny statement for Jack Nicklaus. But I felt like the people were giving me so much, that I wanted to be part of it and enjoy it and not have to come back and do that again.

“Obviously, I tried to make the cut. I’ve never not tried to do that. But they were so wonderful, that it was just one of those special times.”

Woods, who will attempt to win his 10th major as ABC takes over British Open coverage this weekend, was asked by Huber how it felt to hold the lead at the halfway point and not, for once, be the center of attention.

“I like it!” Woods said, a smile overwhelming his face. “I like it a lot!”

Huber: “Well, don’t get used to it, because you won’t have it for the weekend.”

Also available for viewing in the days ahead:

TODAY

* San Francisco Giants at Dodgers

(Channel 11, 1 p.m.)

Fox comes into this one limping, hobbled by a record-low rating of 8.1 for Tuesday’s All-Star game telecast. That was down 8% from the previous record low, 8.8, set with the 2004 All-Star game.

However, you’d never guess it by the tone of Fox’s post-All-Star news release, which trumpeted an apparent rousing success with this headline: “29.5 Million Flock To 2005 MLB All-Star Game On Fox.” And: “Contest Remains Top-Rated, Most-Watched All-Star Event in Sports.” And: “Powers Fox to Easy Prime Time Victory.”

The release makes no mention of record lows or all-time worst performance. But it does note that Tuesday’s 8.1 rating with a 14 share is 65% “better than the rating for the next best All-Star Game (the NBA at 4.9/8).” And it does not mention that the NBA All-Star game drew that rating on a cable network, TNT, which has access to far fewer households than Fox.

And, no mention of the new All-Star game slogan bouncing around the offices at Fox Sports: “This Time It’s How You Count the Numbers.”

SUNDAY

* 2005 ESPY Awards

(ESPN, 6 p.m.)

Spinning right along, we move to uncontested king of public-relations flimflams, the ESPYs, which are nothing more than a two-hour commercial for the Worldwide Leader barely disguised as a “legitimate” sports awards program.

Nobody really has time to sit through a two-hour commercial, especially on a Sunday night, but helpfully, the show was taped Wednesday at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater and ESPN has already released the names of the winners. So, in the interest of public service, let me tell you that Lance Armstrong wins best male athlete, Annika Sorenstam is best female athlete, Boston Red Sox are best team and J.R. Salzman (a lumberjack) is best outdoor athlete.

Oh, and in other highlights, host Matthew Perry tells jokes about Mike Tyson and Jose Canseco and drops his pants.

Now you know. Enjoy that Sunday night dinner out with the family.