Second thoughts

Nicklaus cut his own toenails

Rory McIlroy isn’t playing the Memorial to ensure a rib injury is fully healed before the U.S. Open. Justin Rose cited a sore back in pulling out of the tournament where he earned his first PGA Tour victory. Paul Casey was another withdrawal because of a foot injury that has plagued him before.

Jack Nicklaus said McIlroy texted him to explain what was going on.

But a question about McIlroy led Nicklaus to lament about how easy it is for players to withdraw from tournaments, especially as he considered his era with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

He said he shared his concerns with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

“You think I had any injuries when I played? Do you think Arnold had any injuries when he played? Do you think Gary had any injuries when he played? How many tournaments do you think that we entered that we withdrew from during the course of our career?” Nicklaus said.

He put his forefinger to his thumb to signal zero.

“Never entered if I wasn’t going to play,” Nicklaus said.

He attributed some of it to money and said he understood withdrawals because “it’s pretty much the norm today.”

“Would they withdraw back 30 years ago? Probably not, because that wasn’t the norm,” Nicklaus said. “We played through it. We had a ton of injuries and I played through it. But that’s sort of the norm today. And the guys … I made my own decisions. I didn’t have an entourage. I didn’t have a fitness trainer. I didn’t have a nutritionist, whatever you all have, somebody to cut my toenails in the morning. I didn’t have any of that. I did that myself.

“I think that entourage helps make that decision for the player, telling them, ‘We think physically this is probably not right for you to play.’ And that’s what their job is,” Nicklaus said.

Racing governor

Vermont’s stock car racing governor says he’s undeterred by a minor crash he suffered during his first race of the season at the Thunder Road speedway over the holiday weekend.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott was in second place as the Memorial Day Classic was nearing its end when his car had a problem with its right-front tire, causing him to spin out into the middle of the racetrack. He finished 19th out of 29 drivers.

For years before entering politics Scott was known for his stock car racing. He’s now believed to be the country’s only chief executive who’s also a stock car driver.

Scott said Wednesday such crashes are a routine part of racing. He says even as governor he hopes to compete in a handful of races during the current stock car racing season.

Catfish toss

Prosecutors are dropping charges filed against a Tennessee man for throwing a catfish onto the rink in Pittsburgh during the opening of the Stanley Cup Final.

Jacob Waddell, 36, was charged in Allegheny County with disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime, and disrupting meetings or processions after tossing the dead fish over the glass surrounding the rink Monday night during the Nashville Predators-Pittsburgh Penguins game.

Waddell called himself “a dumb redneck with a bad idea” in a conversation with Nashville radio station WGFX-FM. He said he bought an “entirely too big” catfish in Tennessee, filleted it and cut half the spine out, and then ran over it with his pickup truck several times to make it easier to pack.

AP/JAY LaPRETE Jack Nicklaus shows how many golf tournaments he and other major players from his era withdrew from with injuries during their careers. “Never entered if I wasn’t going to play,” he said.