JACK NICKLAUS: THE CAPTAIN THEY ALL LOVE
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S CUP WEBSITE
He won't deny he felt a twinge of trepidation when he accepted the invitation to return for a fourth time as U.S. President's Cup captain, but Jack Nicklaus, whose heart has always been pure and whose head has always been clear, could not ignore his gut.
The 2005 Presidents Cup, which America had won by whisker, had been an emotional and satisfying exercise, a proper way to close down a year in which he said goodbye to the Masters, his competitive career, and, most painfully of all, a grandson.
His charges had bundled it up so neatly, delivering a three-point victory at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., after first presenting him with a portrait of Jake Walter Nicklaus, the toddler who died in a drowning accident seven months earlier. The Golden Bear said the gift was the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for him.
No way to top that, he figured. And, in the immediate aftermath of that U.S. win, which levelled his record to 2-2-1 as a captain of American teams, Nicklaus was all but certain that it was time he stepped aside, though he promised to be around the game if he were needed.
He was needed, he answered the call -- delivered resoundingly by his players, above all others -- and he now has the American squad poised for an emphatic victory in the seventh edition of the President's Cup.
Winless in Canada during his playing career (though seven times a runner-up in the Canadian Open), Nicklaus has ever so gently and lovingly pulled the right strings at Royal Montreal Golf Club and his horses have responded.
The result as Sunday's 12 singles matches loom is not only a seven-point U.S. lead over a talented but tortured International Team, but also a blueprint for future captains in this event and the Ryder Cup, where the Americans are as cursed of late as the Internationals seem to be here.
"I felt like being captain ... I didn't want to be piggish in any way. I'm sure Gary feels the same way," Nicklaus, 67, said. "I told Tim (Finchem, PGA TOUR commissioner), and the same goes for next time, or any other time, 'If you want me and you need me and you'd like for me to do it, I'm happy to do it.'
"Barbara said to me after the last one, 'How can it be any better? Why do you want to do it again?'
"I said, 'Barbara, because I like the game of golf. If it helps the game and it promotes the game, I would put that ahead of my own selfishness of winning the last time.' "
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S CUP WEBSITE
He won't deny he felt a twinge of trepidation when he accepted the invitation to return for a fourth time as U.S. President's Cup captain, but Jack Nicklaus, whose heart has always been pure and whose head has always been clear, could not ignore his gut.
The 2005 Presidents Cup, which America had won by whisker, had been an emotional and satisfying exercise, a proper way to close down a year in which he said goodbye to the Masters, his competitive career, and, most painfully of all, a grandson.
His charges had bundled it up so neatly, delivering a three-point victory at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., after first presenting him with a portrait of Jake Walter Nicklaus, the toddler who died in a drowning accident seven months earlier. The Golden Bear said the gift was the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for him.
No way to top that, he figured. And, in the immediate aftermath of that U.S. win, which levelled his record to 2-2-1 as a captain of American teams, Nicklaus was all but certain that it was time he stepped aside, though he promised to be around the game if he were needed.
He was needed, he answered the call -- delivered resoundingly by his players, above all others -- and he now has the American squad poised for an emphatic victory in the seventh edition of the President's Cup.
Winless in Canada during his playing career (though seven times a runner-up in the Canadian Open), Nicklaus has ever so gently and lovingly pulled the right strings at Royal Montreal Golf Club and his horses have responded.
The result as Sunday's 12 singles matches loom is not only a seven-point U.S. lead over a talented but tortured International Team, but also a blueprint for future captains in this event and the Ryder Cup, where the Americans are as cursed of late as the Internationals seem to be here.
"I felt like being captain ... I didn't want to be piggish in any way. I'm sure Gary feels the same way," Nicklaus, 67, said. "I told Tim (Finchem, PGA TOUR commissioner), and the same goes for next time, or any other time, 'If you want me and you need me and you'd like for me to do it, I'm happy to do it.'
"Barbara said to me after the last one, 'How can it be any better? Why do you want to do it again?'
"I said, 'Barbara, because I like the game of golf. If it helps the game and it promotes the game, I would put that ahead of my own selfishness of winning the last time.' "
Labels: Pro Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, September 30, 2007
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