The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Masters letdown can ruin year
Nicklaus: Golfers have to move past disappointment.
Tiger Woods built his comeback around the Masters, as was the case even in healthier years. He took a step back at Augusta National, not breaking par until the final round and finishing 16 shots behind Patrick Reed, the most he has trailed the Masters winner.
Woods wasn’t alone in his disappointment.
Jordan Spieth geared his early part of the year toward being ready for the Masters, the major he says he most wants to win. He had a twoshot lead after the first round, and rounds of 74-71 meant even that closing 64 wasn’t enough.
Phil Mickelson took himself out of the hunt with a 79 in the second round.
Jack Nicklaus can understand how they feel, and his message for anyone who puts so much emphasis on a green jacket is that the show goes on.
“I had to learn that there were other tournaments in the country after Augusta,” Nicklaus said at the Masters after hitting the ceremonial first tee shot. “I played Augusta a lot of times and lost. I won in ’63, ’65 and ’66, and I just expected to win every year. I thought I would just continue to do that.”
Nicklaus missed the cut in 1967. He says that started a three-year trend in which it took him longer than it should have to get over not winning the Masters.
“That was a humbling experience to miss the cut after you’ve won it twice in a row,” he said. “But then the next couple of years, I think that it probably destroyed the rest of my year. Because I was so disappointed at not winning at Augusta that I had a downer most of the year.” There’s some truth to that. He didn’t go more than two tournaments before winning again after the 1963, 1964 and 1965 Masters. After he repeated at Augusta in 1966, he ran off five consecutive top fives before winning the British Open at Muirfield to complete the career Grand Slam.
But after missing the cut in 1967, he went five tournaments without winning and had one stretch of 10 straight rounds in which he failed to break 70. The following year when he tied for fifth at the Masters, Nicklaus didn’t win again until the Western Open the first weekend in August.
And after a tie for 23rd in the 1969 Masters, he didn’t win again until the Sahara Invitational in October.
“I put such a buildup to this tournament and the importance of winning that first major that it was to my detriment more times than a positive,” he said.
Nicklaus figured it out. Over the next four years, he never went more than three events after the Masters before winning again. Twice, in 1971 and 1973, he won in his next start after failing to win the Masters.
As the WGC turns: For the second time since the World Golf Championships began in 1999, the PGA Tour is converting one of its regular tournaments into one of the four WGCs with a big purse ($10 million this year) and a limited field with no cut.
Doral had been longest-running PGA Tour on the Florida Swing until it morphed into the WGC-CA Championship in 2007.
Now it’s happening in Memphis.
Bridgestone chose not to renew its increasingly expensive title sponsorship of the WGC at Firestone, which had hosted an elite event since 1976. Starting next year, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational will move to the TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
That will assure the strongest field for Memphis, which dates to 1958. But much like Doral in 2007, it becomes off-limits to PGA Tour regulars.
Based on this week’s world ranking, only 16 players in the field for the St. Jude Classic last year would be eligible as a World Golf Championship.
Balance at the top: Each generation believes it had stronger and deeper competition, though there at least appears to be more balance.
Perhaps one way to measure that is through Tiger Woods.
When he won the 2008 U.S. Open for his 14th major, only seven other players in the top 20 in the world ranking had combined for 13 majors. Phil Mickelson (No. 2), Ernie Els (No. 5) and Vijay Singh (No. 9), each had three majors. Geoff Ogilvy (No. 4), Jim Furyk (No. 10), Padraig Harrington (No. 13) and Trevor Immelman (No. 15) each had one.
Just like then, four of the top five in the world have won majors (all but 23-yearold Jon Rahm).
However, 12 of the top 20 in the world from this week’s rankings have won majors. The top 20 includes Mickelson (now with five majors), Rory McIlroy (four majors), Jordan Spieth (three majors) and Bubba Watson (two majors). Eight other players have won at least one major.
It’s certainly younger at the top.
Woods was 32 when he won his last major, and only three players from the top 10 were in their 20s — Scott, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose. This week, seven of the top 10 in the world are in their 20s.