Nicklaus commits to field

The Toshiba Senior Classic set a trap and caught a bear ... the

Golden Bear.

Jack Nicklaus, considered by many to be the greatest player in the

history of the sport, will compete for the first time in the Toshiba

Senior Classic, which begins Monday and runs through March 21 at

Newport Beach Country Club, it was announced Monday.

Voted Golfer of the Millenium or Golfer of the Century from such

media outlets as Associated Press, PGATOUR.com, GolfWorld, British

Broadcasting Company and Golfweek, Nicklaus’ performances in the

professional majors is unmatched. He has won six Masters, five PGA

Championships, four U.S. Opens, three British Opens and three Players

Championships during his celebrated career.

Nicknamed “The Golden Bear”, Nicklaus’ 70 official titles rank

second only to Sam Snead’s 81 in PGA Tour history, according to the

PGA Champions Tour media guide. Nicklaus, who has 100 total victories

around the world, according to nicklaus.com, was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Jeff Purser, Toshiba Senior

Classic tournament director. “To have someone like Jack Nicklaus

grace our tournament is a dream come true for everyone, especially

Orange County golf fans, who we anticipate [will] come out in numbers

to show their appreciation for the greatest player the game of golf

has ever seen.

“[Nicklaus] will, no doubt, bring an unmatched excitement to the

Toshiba Senior Classic, quite an accomplishment since the tournament

is considered one of the premiere events on the Champions Tour.”

Nicklaus won 10 tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour, the last two

in 1996 at the Tradition and the GTE Suncoast Classic. The Senior PGA

Tour became the Champions Tour in 2003.

Since 2000, Nicklaus, who turned 64 in January, has six top-10

finishes in Champions Tour or Senior PGA Tour events, not counting

Skins Game events.

This season, Nicklaus was sixth in the MasterCard Championship,

Jan. 23-25, then tied for 15th in the ACE Group Classic, Feb. 13-15.

Both are Champions Tour events. He was third at the Wendy’s Champions

Skins Game, Jan. 30-31.

His top Champions Tour finish in 2003 was a tie for seventh in the

Kinko’s Classic.

He posted two fourth-place finishes on the Senior PGA Tour in

2001.

The 2004 Toshiba Senior Classic field also includes defending

champion Rodger Davis. Also scheduled to compete are: Hale Irwin,

Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Kite, Craig Stadler, Gary McCord, Lee Trevino, Ben

Crenshaw, Larry Nelson, Allen Doyle, John Jacobs, Dave Stockton, Jim

Colbert, Bruce Fleisher, Doug Tewell, Jim Thorpe, Bruce Lietzke,

Lanny Wadkins and Chi Chi Rodriguez, to name several.