More Than a Game

It is hard to think of Jack Nicklaus as an old man, especially at 28, when he is still the favorite to win practically every tournament he plays. But Jack is suddenly experiencing the problem that every aging prodigy faces: youngsters are tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Move over, Dad." This spring, as never before, professional golf has been invaded by an army of ambitious newcomers who can belt a ball every bit as far as their elders (or farther), dig divots on the greens with the bite of their approach shots, and putt as if the cups were canyons. Their dedication, determination and disrespect ("Arnie who?") underline their promise. Five of the best:

sbTOM WEISKOPF, 25, 6 ft. 3 in., 175 Ibs. Like Nicklaus, an alumnus of Ohio State University, Weiskopf earned $40,069 last year without winning a single tournament. His first pro victory came last month in the Andy Williams-San Diego Open. On the final hole, a 501-yd. par five, he sank a 25-ft. putt for an eagle three that earned him $30,000. When he bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose the $100,000 Doral Open last week, Weiskopf shrugged off his $8,000 blunder with the casual comment: "I had a bad day at the office." Second place was still worth $12,000, which boosted his 1968 winnings to $46,242--tops on the tour.

sbMARTY FLECKMAN, 23, 5 ft. 10 in., 175 Ibs. Last June, as an unheralded amateur, Fleckman led the U.S. Open after 54 holes--only to collapse with a last-round 80. A health-food enthusiast (honey, brewers' yeast, wheat germ), Fleckman borrowed $6,500 to finance his fling at the tour and won the first pro tournament he entered: last year's Cajun Classic. Some pros insist that Fleckman does not follow through properly, and flips the club during his downswing. But he is making that flawed swing pay.

sbBOB MURPHY, 25, 5 ft. 10 in., 210 Ibs., started playing golf only seven years ago, and his record is almost as flashy as Fleckman's. In 1965, he became the first player in 54 years to win the U.S. Amateur on his first try. Bob plans to get married next month because "the tour is no place for a bachelor." Last week, outfitted with a new set of irons, Murphy won $2,100 in the Doral Open and announced: "I'm playing with more ease every week."

sbLEE TREVINO, 28, 5 ft. 10 in., 180 Ibs., entered the U.S. Marines as a fairway hacker and emerged as a polished player--after a tour of duty on Okinawa, where "we had 'greens' covered with sand an inch or two deep." Trevino was a teaching pro in El Paso until last year, when he entered the U.S. Open at his wife's insistence, wound up fifth and won $6,000. Committed now to the tour ("You don't have to put up with the little old ladies here"), Lee skips rope and does situps, is often the first pro on the practice tee in the mornings.

sbDEANE BEMAN, 29, 5 ft. 71 in., 150 Ibs., hardly qualifies, either by age or experience, as a neophyte to competitive golf. But Beman only turned pro last year, after a distinguished simon-pure career during which he won the U.S. Amateur (twice) and the British Amateur, played five times on the U.S. Walker Cup teams. Unlike the other newcomers to the tour, Beman is a short hitter, but he makes up for it with the uncanny accuracy of his approaches and putts, and last month he tied Arnold Palmer for first place at the $100,000 Bob Hope Desert Classic in California--only to finish second after a sudden-death playoff. "Deane will be around a lot longer than I will," sighed Winner Palmer, "and he's going to win a lot of tournaments before he's through."

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