Down to Bear Minimum

The Golden Age of golf officially ends at the British Open in July, according to the Golden Bear.

Jack Nicklaus, who has hinted about retirement for several years, on Monday told Associated Press in England that the British Open July 14-17 at St. Andrews would be the last time he tees up in an official tournament.

“From a tournament standpoint that will be it for me,” Nicklaus said. “I will play a few skins games and father-sons, but from any kind of tournament involvement, that’s it.”

Nicklaus, 65, never before had set a specific date or tournament for his last hurrah, fearing it would be perceived as a farewell tour instead of a legitimate competition.

It had been widely speculated that this year’s British Open would be his last because past champions are exempt only through age 65 and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which runs the British Open, moved St. Andrews up one year in the rotation to coincide with Nicklaus’ age.

Nicklaus, the winner of a record 18 professional major championships, won the British Open at St. Andrews in 1970 and ’78.

“Why St. Andrews? I love St. Andrews,” Nicklaus said. “It’s been a great part of my career.”

In April, a teary-eyed Nicklaus walked off the ninth green at Augusta National and, after missing the cut, announced that it would be his last Masters. He hasn’t played the U.S. Open or PGA Championship since 2000.

“I expect I’ll be just as emotional at St. Andrews,” he said. “I’m a sentimental old fool. I enjoy being a part of history and what’s going on, but I don’t consider myself competitive anymore.”

Ken Bowden, Nicklaus’ biographer and friend, said lack of competitiveness is the main reason Nicklaus has decided to stop.

Nicklaus won 73 PGA Tour titles and 10 on the Champions Tour but hasn’t had an official victory since the Tradition -- a Champions Tour major -- in 1996. It has been 19 years since his last PGA Tour victory at the 1986 Masters.

“It’s not a real surprise to those around him,” Bowden said. “He’s long said that he doesn’t want to be a ceremonial golfer. If he can’t compete, he doesn’t want to play, so the only answer is to stop doing it.”

The Masters is the only official tournament Nicklaus has played this year, though he won the Champions Skins Game in February. Last year, he showed signs of competitiveness with a sixth-place finish at a Champions Tour event. Later, he made the cut at the Memorial, a PGA tournament he hosts in Ohio.

But for someone widely considered the best of all time, a sixth on the Champions Tour and a made cut on the PGA Tour aren’t exactly a green jacket and a Claret Jug.

“It was very difficult for him because people were congratulating him on making the cut,” Bowden said. “His personality isn’t wired that way. He used to get congratulated for winning a grand slam.”

Nicklaus has played competitive golf for nearly 50 years and recently has been slowed by a variety of medical problems. He had a hip replacement in 1999, and has battled lower back pain, leg injuries and shoulder soreness.

Nicklaus hasn’t made an official announcement, but Bowden guesses that he will play one last time in the Memorial June 2-5 and that might be his final competitive tournament in the U.S.

“Some of us were wondering if he might make token appearances in that tournament, but it doesn’t sound like it,” Bowden said.

The Masters, the tournament for which Nicklaus is best known because of his six victories there, offers past champions lifetime exemptions. Arnold Palmer played there until 2004, when he was 74, even though he didn’t make a cut after 1983.

Billy Casper skipped three Masters before returning this year, when he shot an opening-round 106 and withdrew. Nicklaus last made the cut at Augusta in 2000, but left the door open a crack for a possible return.

“I’m not positive ever of anything,” he said at the 2005 Masters. “I have the right to change my mind. I have the ability to come back. I don’t think I will do that but ... I have the right to do that.”

Bowden, however, said a return anywhere after the British Open is unlikely.

“I think he really means it this time,” Bowden said. “I mean, it was inevitable. Every good thing comes to an end. Obviously he’s going to miss it and we’re going to miss him. I’m sorry to see him go.”

True to form, Nicklaus said that he hoped his appearance at St. Andrews this year would be more than just a farewell tour of the course.

“Hopefully when I get to St. Andrews, I will have some kind of game,” he said. “It won’t be great, but I hope not to embarrass myself. I will enjoy it.”

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Major player

Jack Nicklaus played in a record 154 consecutive major championships for which he was eligible from the 1957 U.S. Open to the 1998 U.S. Open. Nicklaus in the majors:

MAJORS 163

VICTORIES 18

RUNNER-UP 19

THIRD PLACE 9

TOP-FIVE FINISHES 56

TOP-10 FINISHES 73

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Bear facts

Jack Nicklaus’ notable major tournament records:

* Most major tournament victories: 18.

* Most Masters victories: 6.

* Most U.S. Open victories: 4 (tied with Ben Hogan).

* Most PGA championship victories: 5 (tied with Walter Hagen).