GOLDEN WIN FOR GOLDEN BEAR.

Byline: DAVE SHELBURNE Golf

Amateurs everywhere and plenty of professionals know golf can be a bear at times. Last weekend, it also proved to be a Golden Bear of a game.

Jack Nicklaus, who dominated the PGA Tour in his era and won 19 professional majors and two U.S. Amateur championships, renewed the hopes of his longtime, die-hard fans by winning the Wendy's Champions Skins Game at age 65.

The age wasn't as big a factor as the victory, since part-time Champions Tour player Nicklaus was competing against fellow senior rivals Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Craig Stadler, the kid in this foursome at 51 and the reigning Player of the Year on the 50-over Champions Tour.

The win was ... well, let Nicklaus describe it:

``To win, I don't care what age you are, is fun, and this is fun.''

Nicklaus won 11 skins and $340,000 - the largest paycheck of his golf career.

``Guys get checks that big all the time now,'' Nicklaus said, ``but not in my era.''

Two weeks before the senior Skins Game at Wailea Country Club in Hawaii, Nicklaus had trouble playing 18 holes because of hamstring problems. He had undergone back surgery Nov. 23 and hadn't played a competitive round since June.

He spotted Stadler a quick early lead - the Walrus birdied three of the first four holes to pocket $80,000 - then roared back. Nicklaus missed just one fairway, putted well throughout the competition and won 11 consecutive skins.

``The old man here played really good,'' said Stadler, who won five times on the Champions Tour last year and was runner-up with five skins and $120,000 Saturday. ``He moans and complains about the hips, the back, the legs. He just lulls you to sleep, and then he makes four birdies in a row. I'm not surprised by anything he does.''

Watson, third with two skins and $80,000, said Nicklaus played like ``the Jack of old.''

What next?

Nicklaus hopes to be able to play in the Masters and British Open this year but wonders about his health - and his stamina after playing just four rounds, all course openings, between last year's Memorial Tournament and his Skins Game win.

His fans, who have cheered him through 73 PGA Tour victories and 10 senior tour wins - including eight senior majors - found more reason to cheer with the Golden Bear's reaction to his efforts at Wailea.

``I think I can play better,'' Nicklaus said.

--Names in the game: Simi Valley High, one of the few area schools to win a Southern Section golf championship (20 years ago, with Paul Holtby - a qualifier for next week's Nissan Open - in the lineup) could challenge for another section final appearance this season.

Coach Ty McDermott's Pioneers, who return one of the area's top players in long-hitting Casey Piper, also bring in talented freshman J.D. Archibald, who won the age 13-15 division of the Mizuno West Coast Mid-Season Championship last week at Gold Canyon, Ariz.

Archibald shot 4-under-par 67 in the final round of the International Junior Golf Tour event at Gold Canyon Resort. ...

Erik Jarvey, a senior at Highland High of Palmdale, continues to play well below the radar, notching a final-round 69 to finish fifth in the 16-19 division of the Mizuno event. The two-time Southern Section finalist has few wins to show for his near-weekly push on various junior tours but has been a top-5 finisher in seven of his past 10 events.

He'll lead Highland's bid for a fourth consecutive undefeated Golden League season this year. ...

Adam Albrecht, the Calabasas High graduate who qualified to play in the 2003 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, started classes last month at New York University and will play for the Violets' NCAA Division III golf team this season. NYU made its first appearance in the Division III golf championship last season after placing third in the Northeast Regional. ...

Aaron Conrad, Kyle Thurston and Bryan Martin, who led Thousand Oaks High to the Southern Section team final last year, jump-started Moorpark College's season Monday by helping the Raiders win the first Western State Conference tournament of the year.

The victory was sweeter because it was achieved on the home course of longtime WSC power College of the Canyons, which has won 11 conference championships and three state titles since 1990.

Conrad was medalist at 1-under-par 71, and Thurston shot 72 for Moorpark, which could be fielding its best team since reviving its program in 2001 and nearly a decade after winning a state community college championship.

--Junior challenge: Moorpark Country Club will be the site of a qualifying tournament Monday for the Mutual of Omaha Drive, Chip and Putt competition. Moorpark will stage one of 105 qualifying events in the program, which is in its seventh year. Players ages 7-14 are eligible, with entry berths going to the first 250 applicants at each site. Winners at first-round events qualify for regional play leading to a national championship in October. Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

PHIL MICKELSON

Box:

ON THE GREEN

BY DAVE SHELBURNE