Golden moments

All he wanted to do was make a little noise. By the time Jack Nicklaus was done with the most famous charge in Augusta National history, he delivered a Masters moment so indelible that just about everyone remembers where they were when he won a sixth green jacket. It was 30 years ago, in 1986, when Nicklaus won his 18th and final major. Unlike his other majors, no one saw this coming. He was 46 and had not won a major in six years. He was four shot behind going into Sunday and still even par for his round when he reached the ninth green. That's when Nicklaus heard two roars behind him that rattled the Georgia pines. One was for Seve Ballesteros. The other was for Tom Kite. Both had pitched in for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole. Nicklaus turned to the gallery and said, "Why don't we see if we can make a little noise up here ourselves." And that he did. He made the putt, and the charge began.

Two things he said to his caddie — his oldest son, Jackie — captured the comeback. Standing in the fairway on the par-5 15th, Nicklaus said to him, "How far do you think a 3 will go?" He hit 4-iron to about 10 feet for eagle and was right in the mix. Then, on the par-3 16th, Nicklaus hit 5-iron and knew it was good. "Be right," his son said as the ball was in the air. Nicklaus picked up his tee and without looking replied, "It is." That ball rolled to 4 feet for birdie. Nicklaus raised his putter — that pose is now a bronze outside his home club in Ohio — when he made birdie on the 17th.