St. Andrews, Scotland – The best postcards always are signed with love. Nobody in golf sent us so many heartfelt souvenirs as Jack Nicklaus.
Hard to believe, watching the Golden Bear slowly prowl the 18th green Friday at the British Open, with faces unabashedly awash in tears as the 65-year-old master dropped the final birdie putt of his tournament life, that he was once the most unpopular man in the game, condemned for the sin of beating Arnold Palmer.
In the end, the world fell in love with Big Jack. He gave us no choice.
It was not because of his 18 major titles, although winning never hurt.
Nicklaus departed the game with a big claret hug, because here was the rare athlete unafraid to let us see him cry.
No real man in sports ever acted more humane in victory – or defeat – than Nicklaus.
No champion more often demonstrated why family counts more than fame.
No postcard from his final round will endure longer than a scene of him putting a gentle Bear hug on Steve Nicklaus, his caddie and second-oldest son.
“That hug meant a lot, considering all his history here and everything I’ve been through this year,” said Steve Nicklaus, those tears forming anew. “We both had tears in our eyes.”
If you forget everything else about how the Bear said goodbye, please remember how his emotional farewell tour began.
It was born in spring, when he ignored an aching hip to visit Augusta National, for a pilgrimage of renewal undertaken only to help Steve recover from the March drowning of a 17-month-old child in a hot-tub tragedy. The toddler’s name was Jake. He called his grandfather Pee-paw.
“I’m not really concerned about what my legacy is in relation to the game of golf, frankly,” said Nicklaus, father of five and still crazy for his wife after all these decades. “I’m more concerned about what my legacy is with my family, my kids and my grandkids. That’s by far more important to me.”
As Gary Player marched up North Street in St. Andrews, his jet-black hair and matching suit bouncing in the breeze, middle-aged men holding pints stumbled out of pubs to shout his name.
More than that sweet swing, the Bear hugs are what Player sees when he thinks of Nicklaus.
“We live at a time when sons are embarrassed to give their fathers a kiss,” Player said.
“So when Jack gives his son a hug, it’s priceless. We need more of that.”
People always ask to name the nicest athlete to ever lace ’em up, because fans crave reassurance their heroes cheered on TV are also good guys in 3-D. The all-time champ is Nicklaus. No contest.
The bottom line of a career path lined in gold cannot be measured by the fact Nicklaus was the first golfer to earn $2 million, $3 million, $4 million and $5 million in a single year.
Throughout a generation during which pro athletes moved from next door to mansions envied by movie stars, Nicklaus struck blows against the male obsession with staying so late at the office that children might know a father only by the sound of his voice on the telephone.
Once he made the turn, the best golfer who ever lived was always heading home. The Nicklaus clan left Saturday after the celebrity politely asked his wife when she wanted to fire up the airplane.
Denverite Kaye Kessler, who has followed Nicklaus since a 10-year-old prodigy began tearing up Ohio layouts, now chuckles at the memory of a grown man squeezing in a trip on a private jet between the rounds of a tourney in Mexico during the 1970s. Why? To catch a teenage son play high school football back in the USA.
All Scotland did not stop to fete Nicklaus. It just seemed that way. Spectators stood guard behind a rocky wall at the famous Road Hole for five hours to shout “Go on, Jack!” one more time. Legendary hockey coach Scotty Bowman served as an official scorer, following the Bear’s every last step.
“Look at this!” Bowman said late Friday afternoon. Clutching a ball autographed by Nicklaus as if his prize was the Stanley Cup, he said, “You won’t be finding this baby on eBay.”
Sharing your father with the world is not always fun and games. As Steve Nicklaus said, “It’s wonderful for him.”
If pro John Daly swears he cribbed technique from cartoons of the Nicklaus published in Golf Digest, what’s left for a champ to share privately with his family? Plenty. Just this year, the grandfather of 16 showed how to deal with loss.
The only certainty is nothing lasts. Care while you can.
“You can’t be afraid to show your emotions. You have to lay your heart on the line,” said Steve Nicklaus, whose wife is pregnant again. “My dad hates to say goodbye to golf.
“But we all have to say goodbye sometime.”
The numbers on the scorecard are final.
Anybody can see Nicklaus is the greatest golfer who ever lived.
It means far more to be called Dad.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
