Nicklaus salutes Newport

Richard Dunn

The ovations never get old. Even for Jack Nicklaus.

As the Golden Bear walked up to the 18th green Sunday, fans packed

both sides of the fairway and filled every seat in the hospitality

tents, giving Nicklaus, whose game improved with each round in the

Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club, a roaring

applause.

With his trademark hand waves to the gallery of about 1,800 on the

last hole and his Golden Bear cap removed, Nicklaus, at 64, took his

first final-round stroll along golf’s magic green carpet in Newport

Beach.

“They were great this week,” Nicklaus of the fans in the

galleries. “They were terrific and I enjoyed it very much. My golf

wasn’t that great, but that’s the way it works.”

Nicklaus, who shot 2-under-par 69 in the final round to finish at

3-under, used the PGA Champions Tour stop in Newport Beach as a

tuneup for the Masters in three weeks.

“Why would I be here if I wasn’t getting ready to play [the

Masters]?” Nicklaus said. “I didn’t do anything disastrous this week

[to change my mind about preparing for Augusta].”

For the tournament, Nicklaus shot even-par 71 in the first round,

70 on Saturday and 69 in the last round. “I improved each day hitting

the golf ball, too,” Nicklaus said. “Friday I did not hit good shots,

Saturday I hit a few good shots and [Sunday] I hit a lot of good golf

shots.”

Nicklaus birdied the par-4 No. 1 for the second day in a row, then

fell to 2-under for the day at the par-5 No. 3.

He also birdied No. 11 on the back nine, but bogeyed No. 12 when

he hit an 8-iron into a bunker and failed to get up and down.

It was his only bogey on Sunday.

“I had a couple of other birdie opportunities coming in [but

settled for par],” Nicklaus said. “I hit the ball a lot better

[Sunday] than I did in the first two rounds. I hit a lot better golf

shots. At least it was something that resembled playing.”

Nicklaus saved par at the par-3 17 with a nine-foot putt after

landing left of the hole, but missed downhill birdie attempt from two

feet on 18 as the large gallery moaned.

Returning to Newport Beach for the 2005 Toshiba Senior Classic is

way too far in advance for Nicklaus to commit, but the lure of the

golf course at Newport Beach (at 6,584 yards, it’s the shortest on

the Champions Tour) might draw the Golden Bear back again.

“I enjoyed it,” Nicklaus said. “The golf course is fine and people

are nice. I’d like to have an opportunity to play better.”

With Nicklaus in town for the Toshiba Classic, the crowds were

bigger than usual with about 24,000 in attendance Friday and Sunday

and 22,000 for Saturday’s second round.