Nicklaus-Palmer still best gauge of rivalries

Woods versus Mickelson is the latest, but far from the greatest

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Jack Nicklaus says if he were in a high-stakes match in Las Vegas in his prime, the most compelling opponent would be Arnold Palmer.

Never mind that the Golden Bear considers his toughest rival to be Tom Watson. Or that he finished runner-up to Lee Trevino in majors four times in seven years.

With apologies to Friday’s super-hyped $9 million exhibition match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in Las Vegas, any talk of golf rivalries starts with Nicklaus and Palmer.

“I rarely lost to Arnold,” Nicklaus said before a recent American Cancer Society benefit. “We never ended up coming down the stretch together very often.”

Nicklaus was a runner-up to him six times, including the 1960 US Open at Cherry Hills as a 20-year-old amateur.

But unlike Woods-Mickelson, who never really squared off in a major until Woods’ fifth year on the tour, Nicklaus famously beat Palmer in a playoff to win the 1962 US Open at Oakmont in Palmer’s backyard.

“We would play together a lot. We were paired a lot. And usually we beat each other up and ended up giving away the tournament,” Nicklaus said.

“That’s why they still talk about our rivalry. Everyone was interested in which of us won that day, not who won the tournament.”

Nicklaus was reminded of the 1970 US Open at Hazeltine, where the tournament scoreboard had the names Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player at the bottom for the entire week. None of them finished in the top 40.

“I’ve never seen a tournament ever do anything like that again,” Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus also finished runner-up in the majors four times to Watson, all coming down to the final few holes, none more dramatic than at Turnberry in 1977.

“Watson was the toughest,” Nicklaus said. “He was a kid with blinders on. I love the way Tom played.”

Trevino won by four shots at Oak Hill in the 1968 US Open, then beat Nicklaus in a playoff at Merion in 1971 and denied Nicklaus the third leg of the Grand Slam a year later by beating him at Muirfield. And in 1974, Trevino got him by one shot at Tanglewood in the PGA Championship.

“Lee thrived on competitive moments,” Nicklaus said.

But Palmer? That was different.

Nicklaus said the rivalry started in 1958 when as an 18-year-old amateur he was invited to take part in a day honoring Dow Finsterwald, that year’s PGA Championship winner.

“On the first tee we had a driving contest,” Nicklaus said. “Arnold drove it on the green. I drove it 30 yards over the green. I never let Arnold forget that. I’d say, ‘Hey AP, we had one driving contest, I hit it 30 yards past you.’ He’d say, ‘Yeah, but I shot 63 that day and you shot 67.’ To me, that was the start of our rivalry.

“Ever since, we always had fun with that. I’d say, ‘If I hadn’t shot 39 on the last nine holes at Cherry Hills, no one would have ever heard of you.’ And he’d say to me, ‘If I hadn’t three-putted nine times in ’62, nobody would have ever heard of you.’ That was our banter.”

Desert start

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is skipping his traditional start in Abu Dhabi for the first time when healthy.

In his place, January’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship won’t be entirely without star power. Dustin Johnson has already said he’s playing for the third straight year. He will be joined by US Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka, who returns for the first time since his rookie year on the European Tour in 2014.

“Last time I played in 2014, I was ranked 93rd in the world, so a lot has happened since that time,” Koepka said.

Champ’s bonus

Cameron Champ had an ideal start to his rookie season by winning the Sanderson Farms Championship, making all five of his cuts and earning nearly $1.3 million. And while he lost a chance to win at Sea Island, he cashed in another way.

Champ won $300,000 through the “Birdies Fore Love” competition by making the most birdies over the fall part of the season.

The money goes to the charity of his choice, and the 23-year-old already has the Cameron Champion Foundation geared toward STEM education and youth golf.

“Charity and giving back has always been a thing of mine and my family personally,” he said.

“We didn’t come from much, but we always gave back as much as possible.”