ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 8, 1996 TAG: 9604090120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jack Nicklaus already was one for the ages.
So his victory on Sunday in The Tradition - enough to start a legend for many - would have taken its place on the shelf of other storied triumphs except that it was Nicklaus' 100th pro victory.
The total includes foreign tournaments, and Nicklaus said he wasn't as sure about it as Larry O'Brien, his administrative assistant.
``Let's call it 100,'' said Nicklaus, who won his fourth Tradition title, becoming the first to win a Senior PGA tournament four times. ``After I won [Feb.18] in Tampa, I went to see Larry O'Brien, and he said, `Jack, your next win will be your 100th.' And I said, `Great. Now I have a monkey on my back.'''
Nicklaus has won 70 titles on the regular tour, 10 as a senior, and 20 others around the world. He was the defending champion in the eight-year-old tournament. He also won on his first attempt, in 1990, and in 1991.
He vaulted past Hale Irwin with a three-shot swing on the 12th hole and stayed ahead, finishing with a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole to put the finishing touch on a second straight round of 7-under-par 65 for a 16-under 272.
``He played fantastic,'' Nicklaus said about Irwin, who led by three shots on the back nine but lost by three. ``He was playing perfect golf. My goal was just to not let him get out of sight.''
Irwin began the round at 10-under, one shot ahead of Nicklaus and two up on Raymond Floyd, and reached 15-under by No.10. But he couldn't overcome three straight bogeys on Nos.11-13 and shot 69 for 275.
``I felt it was my opportunity to prolong the legacy of Jack Nicklaus,'' Irwin said. ``He did play well. He saved a lot of little shots, and my hat is off to him. I think those of us who buried him two or three years ago had better put the shovels back in the garage.''
Floyd had two bogeys and a double bogey in the last five holes of the front nine and needed a strong finish to get back to 281.
Bob Murphy completed the tournament at 282, Walter Morgan and Al Geiberger finished at 283, and George Archer and John Bland were another shot behind.
Rocky Thompson tied a tournament record with a 64, but had too much ground to make up and finished at even-par 288.
Using a cabbage-soup diet offered by a friend of Tradition founder Lyle Anderson, Nicklaus shed 18 pounds over the winter to reach the 185-pound playing weight that helped him win his sixth Masters title in 1986, and he worked with pro Jim Flick after a poor start in Scottsdale.
He said he felt his arms loosen after practice Friday, and in the last two rounds he had several 330-yard drives and chipped in from the fringe or holed out off the fairway five times.
Everything in his game was flawless in the bogey-free final round.
Last year, Nicklaus had to hold off Isao Aoki in a three-hole playoff to claim the trophy. This time, he shaved five strokes from par in two days at No.12, a 500-yard par-5 on the Cochise Course he designed for Desert Mountain.
Nicklaus had a double eagle Saturday. This time, he hit a similar huge drive, blasted an iron pin-high but in the fringe about 25 feet from the pin, and chipped in for eagle.
Meanwhile, Irwin had a disastrous second shot on the hole, blasting out of rough into a transition area. His wedge from the sand and gravel bounced on the green, failed to hold and rolled into a bunker. Irwin's next chip left him an 8-footer for par, which he missed.
``Obviously, the pursuit of the championship clouded my thinking today. I made some bonehead decisions,'' Irwin said.
On that hole, Nicklaus reached 14-under, while Irwin, who had been three shots ahead, backed up to 13-under.
The lead became two strokes with Irwin's next bogey, a two-putt from 3 feet, and Nicklaus turned up the heat with a birdie on the 16th hole.
Nicklaus won $150,000, raising his 1996 earnings to $299,000 in three tournaments and his career money to $7,521,744, including $2,081,388 on the senior tour.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Jack Nicklaus notched his 100th pro victory byby CNBwinning The Tradition for the fourth time on Sunday.