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Nicklaus on course to
return from injury
Jack Nicklaus said Friday that any talk of his career being over because of
a herniated disc in his back are not true, and that he plans to play the Senior
Skins Game in Hawaii at the end of the month.
Nicklaus withdrew from the season-opening MasterCard Championship on the Senior
PGA Tour next week because of lingering back problems. He said he thought it might
put too much strain on his back.
"My back is much improved and it gets better every day," Nicklaus
told the PGA Tour's Web site from his home in Florida. "I believe I'm going
to be fine if I keep working at it. Any reports of my demise have been exaggerated."
Nicklaus, who played his first PGA Tour event 40 years ago this week, withdrew
from the Senior Players Championship midway through the second round in July,
and hasn't played much since.
His only competitive golf was beating Ben Crenshaw in a Shell's Wonderful World
of Golf match in early October.
Nicklaus, a six-time Masters champion who recently joined Augusta National
Golf Club, played in his first members' tournament at Augusta but was unable to
hit the ball more than 210 yards and shot 80 from the members' tees.
He said he changed his workout program and is "500% better than I was
just a week ago."
"I think I'm onto a proper rehab program now," he said. "I'm
not taking any paid medication or anything. Last week, I probably couldn't drive
it within 60 or 70 yards of (son) Gary. I figure I'd be about 10 yards behind
him — which is probably where I should be."
Nicklaus turns 62 on Jan. 21 and said there will be a time when his body will
no longer allow him to play tournament golf.
"I've played a lot of golf and I've had a lot of stress on my body for
a long time," he said. "There's bound to be cumulative effects that
aren't good. If all the golf I play from now on is recreational golf, so be it.
How in the world can I have anything to complain about?
"But frankly, I think I'm on the right track. I feel better, and I think
I'll play a lot more golf."
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