Nicklaus to be retired out of Masters

No golf tournament anywhere in the world gets criticized about its field as long as Tiger Woods is playing. The good news for the Masters is that Woods, a three-time champion, will be allowed to tee it up for the next 39 years.

That doesn't let Augusta National off the hook, however.

Under a new policy effective in 2004, the club will allow its past champions to play in the Masters until they are 65. That means next year will be the last for Gary Player, Tommy Aaron and Charles Coody, and perhaps not many will miss them.

But that's not all.

Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson also decreed that past champions must remain active in tournament golf to get a Thursday starting time in the Masters. He defined active as playing in 15 events a year on any sanctioned tour.

That means next year will most likely be the last for Jack Nicklaus.

And that's an injustice.

At least Arnold Palmer was able to end his 48-year career at the Masters on his own terms, playing his final two rounds over three soggy days with scores that didn't matter. Palmer helped put the Masters on the map, and the hands he shook during his final trip around Augusta belonged to fans he knew by name.

Still, no one is more entrenched in Masters lore than Nicklaus, the winner of a record six green jackets. It even says so on a plaque dedicated in his honor four years ago, located between the 16th green and the 17th tee: ``The man and Augusta National Golf Club will be forever linked.''

At least for one more year.

Then, Augusta will send the Golden Bear into hibernation.

The absurdity of the new Masters policy on past champions remaining active is best illustrated in 1998, the year Nicklaus wiped away tears when the plaque was unveiled and then, at age 58, got into contention for another green jacket.

One of the most chilling moments from that week came on Saturday afternoon when an enormous gallery grew quiet, all eyes focused on the large scoreboard behind the 13th green where a name was being swapped out.

First, the numbers went up hole by hole, indicating the player had a burst of birdies on the back nine. Then, just as the name was sliding into the vacant slot on the board, a lone voice pierced the silence.

``IT'S NICKLAUS!'' a man cried out, and cheers shook the earth.

Jack was back. With birdies on four of his first seven holes Sunday, he headed to the back nine just two shots of the lead. That's where the charge ended, however, and Nicklaus finished four strokes behind, in a tie for sixth.

``The galleries were applauding Jack for breathing,'' Colin Montgomerie said that day. ``The man is amazing.''

Why is that year so significant?

Because under the new policy, Nicklaus would not have been eligible to even compete in the 1998 Masters, having played only 10 times the previous year. In fact, there have been only three seasons since 1986 that he played at least 15 tournaments.

Nicklaus has declined comment on the new policy. ``Let me think about it awhile,'' he said last week in Arizona, and his office said Monday he was not ready to make a statement.

His silence, however, speaks volumes.

Nicklaus has an opinion on everything. To keep quiet on a policy that essentially kicks him out of the Masters is a strong indication he feels betrayed.

When Palmer called it quits, he joked that he didn't want to get the letter Augusta National had sent Doug Ford, Gay Brewer and Billy Casper, recommending they no longer play.

Asked about that letter when he was at the Masters for the Champions Dinner, Nicklaus said, ``I think when you've earned an invitation to play in the Masters or any golf tournament, it's the player's decision whether you should play or not.''

It should have never come down to a letter or a policy.

Too many past champions abused the privilege of playing, starting with Ford. He made it through only one hole in 2001 -- a double bogey -- before walking in. It was the fourth straight year that Ford withdrew from the Masters.

What if they had followed the example of other Masters champions?

Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Cary Middlecoff and Jack Burke Jr. were among those who stopped playing in their 50s. Nelson quit in 1966 at age 54 after missing the cut by one shot. Hogan stopped a year later after a 66-77 on the weekend gave him a tie for 10th.

Sam Snead was 70 when he opened with a 79 and withdrew in 1983. He never played in another Masters. He knew it was time.

Had other champions figured that out, Johnson would not have had to send a letter. Once that was in the mail, he had little choice but to set a policy for past champions.

Now, the only major that allows champions a lifetime pass is the PGA Championship.

It should be noted that Ford is a two-time winner of the PGA, but hasn't played in one since 1981. He shot 79 and withdrew.

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