What More Could Anyone Ask?

Jack Nicklaus is strong for status. In only two years on the pro tour, he has already won three of golf's Big Four tournaments--the U.S. Open, the Masters and the P.G.A.--and missed the fourth (the British Open) by a single swipe of his putter. He has $98,990 in official winnings this year, and he has turned the World Series of Golf (unofficial, says the P.G.A.) into a private endowment fund that pays him an extra $50,000 a year. He is franchised, merchandised, televised and incorporated. What more could a 23-year-old want? One thing. Last week Jack got to visit Paris on an expense account.

He had a chaperon, of course: creaky old (34) Arnold Palmer, who, with a record $128,230 in the bank this year, seems content to let Jack take home the trophies as long as he takes home the jack. The only local tournament last week was something called the Fig Garden Village Open, and Jack and Arnie flew off to Paris to defend the honor of the U.S. in the Canada Cup--a kind of General Assembly of golf that matched two-man teams from 33 nations.

It should have been easy. The only hazards at suburban Saint-Nom-la-Breteche were the exuberant French fans, the ubiquitous French photographers and a persistent French fog, which got so thick that play was cut to 63 holes and cars had to be parked around the greens with their headlights shining. On the very first hole, a 456-yd. par five, Nicklaus reached the green with a drive and a No. 8 iron, and sank his putt for an eagle. But after three days, the best that Jack and Arnie could manage was a first-place tie with Spain's Sebastian Miguel and Ramon Sota. Nicklaus was spraying his approaches, and Palmer's putting was, in his own word, "terrible." Grunted Nicklaus: "The prestige of Uncle Sam is at stake."

And Jack's too, apparently. On the final day he rattled off four birdies in five holes. The par-four sixth hole presented a problem when his second shot caught a trap 70 ft. from the pin. So he pulled out his sand wedge, swung--and blasted the ball straight into the cup. At that, the Duke of Windsor, watching from the edge of the green, tumbled straight off his shooting stick. "Greatest shot I ever saw," he gasped. Arnie Palmer yanked his ailing game together to fire a 34 and ensure the U.S. team a victory that was worth $1,000 to each partner. But Nicklaus' final-round 32 gave him a 63-hole total of 237--15 under par--and the individual championship. More status, more prestige.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.