IRON MAN OF THE IRONS FINISHES MAJORS STREAK.Byline: Dave Shelburne Daily News Staff Writer Jack Nicklaus Noun 1. Jack Nicklaus - United States golfer considered by many to be the greatest golfer of all time (born in 1940) Jack William Nicklaus, Nicklaus ended one of the most durable streaks in sports on his own terms Wednesday, saying he would not play in next week's British Open. Citing a deteriorating de·te·ri·o·rate v. de·te·ri·o·rat·ed, de·te·ri·o·rat·ing, de·te·ri·o·rates v.tr. To diminish or impair in quality, character, or value: left hip and an unwillingness to consume himself in preparation at the expense of his family, Nicklaus, 58, walked away from a streak of 154 consecutive majors for which he was eligible, including 146 dating from his first year as a pro in the 1962 Masters. Putting that accomplishment in perspective, Nick Faldo Nicholas "Nick" Alexander Faldo MBE (born 18 July 1957) is an English golfer on the European Tour, and one of Europe's most successful players of all time. Over his career, he has won three Open Championship titles and three US Masters titles. He was ranked the World No. now owns the longest active major streak at 44 - his starting the year after Nicklaus won a sixth Masters title at age 46 in 1986. ``All good things must come to an end,'' Nicklaus said. ``And I'd like to have them come to an end on a note that I have played reasonably well through the ones that I have played up to this time.'' Nicklaus, who will play in this week's Ford Senior Players Championship at TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council, San Francisco, CA, www.tpc.org) An organization devoted to benchmarking transaction processing systems. In order to derive the number of transactions that can be processed in a given time frame, TPC benchmarks measure the total performance of of Michigan Michigan (mĭsh`ĭgən), upper midwestern state of the United States. It consists of two peninsulas thrusting into the Great Lakes and has borders with Ohio and Indiana (S), Wisconsin (W), and the Canadian province of Ontario (N,E). , said the July 23-26 U.S. Senior Open at Riviera will be his last tournament before he looks into medical remedies he said could include a hip replacement. He intends to play in the future but not without repair of some kind. ``I have been playing on borrowed time as it relates to the level of my game for the last three years,'' he said, ``and I just felt like maybe I don't want to stretch that any further than I can. ``I think I stretched it far enough when I was healthy, and so I don't want to stretch it beyond that if I can't walk.'' Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American golfer. He is the uncle of Heath Irwin. Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in and Larry Nelson Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Larry Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. , also former major winners now playing on the senior tour, said they respected the decision of the man who tallied 18 major titles in his 37-year streak. ``It is inevitable somewhere along the line that Jack is going to have to break the string,'' Irwin said. ``It's like a Cal Ripken record,'' he added, referring to the Baltimore Baltimore, city (1990 pop. 736,014), N central Md., surrounded by but politically independent of Baltimore co., on the Patapsco River estuary, an arm of Chesapeake Bay; inc. 1745. Oriole's consecutive-games streak of 2,566. ``Sooner or later he's going to miss a game. It's not the end of Jack Nicklaus.'' Nelson said Nicklaus was smart enough to know what was best for him. ``I feel that whatever decision he made, he feels like it will be in the best interest of him and the game,'' Nelson said. Nicklaus said timing played as big a role as anything. He had intended to end the streak after finishing sixth in this year's Masters, but the U.S. Golf Association offered him an unexpected exemption to play in a 43rd consecutive U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
He played well enough to make the cut - as he has done 133 times during the streak - but his ailing hip prevented him from preparing as much as he wanted. This week, Nicklaus looked again at a schedule that had him sandwiching two senior majors around a British Open. After consulting with his wife, Barbara, he made the hard decision. ``In this time in my life, I think I would really like to win the U.S. Senior Championship,'' he said. ``I think that is really more important to me in the game of golf right now than competing in the British Open.'' He notified British Open officials and said he continues to deal with the internal aftermath of that streak-ending decision. Was playing in 154 consecutive majors his proudest achievement? ``It was the only one I had left,'' said Nicklaus, who called his '86 Masters victory the highlight of the streak. His biggest disappointment of the streak? ``Not being able to play in the 155th,'' he said. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT A look at Jack Nicklaus' performances in the four professional majors. Nicklaus, who will not enter the British Open, has played in 154 consecutive majors. His first year on the PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". was 1962. MASTERS Tournaments: 40 (1959-1998) Wins: 6 ('63, '65, '66, '72, '75, '86) Runner-up: 4 Top 3: 12 Cuts made: 36 Low score: 64 (third round, 1965) Notable: Finished in the top 10 at every Masters in the 1970s U.S. OPEN Tournaments: 42 (1957-1998) Wins: 4 ('62, '67, '72, '80) Runner-up: 4 Top 3: 9 Cuts made: 35 Low score: 63 (first round, 1980) Notable: Only player to win Open in three decades BRITISH OPEN Tournaments: 36 (1962-1997) Wins: 3 ('66, '70, '78) Runner-up: 7 Top 3: 13 Cuts made: 32 Low score: 65 (fourth round, 1973; third round, 1977) Notable: Never finished worse than a tie for 6th from 1966-80 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP The PGA Championship (often referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship outside of North America) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America as part of the PGA Tour. Tournaments: 36 (1962-1997) Wins: 5 ('63, '71, '73, '75, '80) Runner-up: 4 Top 3: 12 Cuts made: 27 Low score: 64 (fourth rd, 1964) Notable: Became only player to win career Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. twice in '71 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Jack Nicklaus Carlos Osorio/Associated Press (2) Jack Nicklaus, on the 17th hole of Augusta National in 1986, called his Masters victory that year the highlight of his streak of 154 majors. Phil Sandlin/Associated Press BOX: MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT (see text) |
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