HAVING INITIALLY SAID goodbye to The Open under the gaze of a watching Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000, Jack Nicklaus could not resists the temptation to return to the home of golf five years later for one last foray.
His final round as a professional golfer came on July 15th, 2005, when he was paired with his fellow American veteran Tom Watson and the current world number one, Luke Donald.
Nicklaus received a ten-minute round of applause after hitting his tee shot off the 18th hole in the second round, and went on to close his playing career with a fitting birdie from 15 yards, his 168th in Major championships.
The Golden Bear missed the cut by finishing on a three-over-par 147, but there was no doubting the affection of the crowd for a man who had lifted the Claret Jug three times in his career – in 1966, 1970 and 1978.
The best of The Open: The Golden Bear bows out
HAVING INITIALLY SAID goodbye to The Open under the gaze of a watching Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000, Jack Nicklaus could not resists the temptation to return to the home of golf five years later for one last foray.
His final round as a professional golfer came on July 15th, 2005, when he was paired with his fellow American veteran Tom Watson and the current world number one, Luke Donald.
Nicklaus received a ten-minute round of applause after hitting his tee shot off the 18th hole in the second round, and went on to close his playing career with a fitting birdie from 15 yards, his 168th in Major championships.
The Golden Bear missed the cut by finishing on a three-over-par 147, but there was no doubting the affection of the crowd for a man who had lifted the Claret Jug three times in his career – in 1966, 1970 and 1978.
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