Golf’s greatest modern era player, Jack Nicklaus, was having a blast on Wednesday at the annual Masters Par-3 contest. Paired with his long-time friends and competitors, Gary Player and Tom Watson, the 78-year old Nicklaus shot an incredible 4-under par for the event to finish in a tie for fourth place.
These three guys are and will forever be competitors through and through. The 68-year old Watson, who ultimately won this year’s event with a sterling 6-under par score, had trouble shaking the Golden Bear as these golfing greats matched birdie for birdie in the early holes to thrill the patrons at Augusta.
Gary Player, age 82, could merely stand and marvel at how quickly the competitive juices began to rekindle again between his two golfing partners. Senior citizens Nicklaus and Watson were dropping putts like they had decided to resume their epic 1977 British Open “Duel in the Sun” at Carnoustie!
By the ninth hole, Nicklaus all but conceded the victory to Watson as they teed up their final tee shots.
Then, the REAL magic happened.
Jack Nicklaus’ grandson, GT Nicklaus, was toting the golf bag for Grandpa Bear wearing the Augusta-mandated full head-to-toe white caddie uniform. After the legendary threesome hit their shots, GT Nicklaus was suddenly handed a club by Jack and told “Take a shot at it”!
The 15-year old Nicklaus, the son of Gary Nicklaus, is a sturdy young man built much like his famous Grandpa was in his younger days. GT, who carries a nifty 2 handicap, took a couple of quick practice swings and then took aim at the 140 yard par-3 hole as a throng of thousands of patrons smiled watching the young man take a swing.
GT’s ball flew over the lake, onto the green, and then rolled backwards nearly 30 feet down the hill and trickled into the cup for a hole-in-one! Are you kidding???
My lovely wife asked a great question. Is GT Nicklaus now the youngest person to make a hole-in-one at Augusta at the Masters? We may never know.
The great Jack Nicklaus, who owns a total of 6 green jackets at this tournament, broke into tears as he proudly watched one of his 22 grandchildren hit a once-in-a-lifetime shot.
On his Twitter page, the traditionally serious Jack Nicklaus, who holds the record (18) for the most major championships in professional golf history, emotionally said:
“With all due respect to the Masters, allow me to put my six green jackets in the closet for a moment and say that I don’t know if I have had a more special day on a golf course,” he captioned the post. “To have your grandson make his first hole in one on this stage … WOW! #Family #Memoryofalifetime.”
GT Nicklaus brought his Grandpa and millions of golf fans worldwide to tears with an amazing shot of a lifetime. When Jack played golf with GT last fall in the annual PNC Father-Son Golf Tournament in Orlando, Grand Poppa Bear proudly declared,
“I’ve got one out of 22 grandchildren that plays golf seriously or competitively, and we’re not going to let him get away.”
After his magical hole-in-one, GT Nicklaus may have a harder time escaping the proud clutches of the Golden Bear now!