Jack Nicklaus – 1986 Masters
The Greatest Major Victory of All Time
Jack Nicklaus’ victory at the 1986 Masters Tournament is considered one of the greatest moments in golf history. At 46 years old, Nicklaus staged a remarkable comeback in the final round at Augusta National, shooting a six-under-par 30 on the back nine to secure his record-breaking sixth Green Jacket. He birdied holes 9, 10 and 11, eagled the 15th, and added crucial birdies on 16 and 17, finishing with a final round 65. His charge up the leaderboard, combined with faltering competitors like Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, led to a one-stroke victory over Norman and Tom Kite. This triumph not only solidified Nicklaus’ legacy but also made him the oldest Masters champion in history.
Although it was 39 years ago, I vividly remember turning on the CBS coverage at 3:30pm on Masters Sunday (back then the television coverage was only on the back 9 on Sunday), hearing Jim Nantz say something incredible was happening out there and they showed highlights of Jack’s birdies at hole numbers 9, 10 and 11. I remember Jack hitting his tee shot on 16 and then bending down to pick up his tee because he knew it was perfect. I remember Verne Lundquist’s call of Jack’s putt on 17, ”yes sir!” and I also remember the crowd cheering Seve Ballesteros shot on 15 dunking in the water (Masters patrons are instructed to never cheer a bad shot) and Greg Normans approach at 18 flailing over the green wide right. In my humble opinion, it was the greatest victory in golf history.
I wanted to gather some other perspectives on this legendary sports achievement, so I sat down with some family and friends for their thoughts and memories:
Dick Jaquin
“I remember he birdied 9, that’s a killer hole, then he birdied 10, he eagled 15 and then he almost holed it out on 16 and then he made the birdie on 17 “yes sir” and on 18 he had about a 50 footer that he left just a couple of inches short. The most amazing part about him was after he lost the ‘Duel in the Sun’ to Tom Watson, he won the four majors after that, the Grand Slam, and that was after he turned 37 years old. He totally transformed his swing after the ’79 season because he wasn’t getting the height on his drive, and then he wins two majors in ’80, US Open and the PGA up in Rochester. I don’t think he ever missed a putt, he’s known for his power and this and that, but he was the best putter I ever saw.”
George Blasiak
“Well I was a big golf fan, and I tried to turn on the tournament but I was stuck in my dorm room and couldn’t get to any real TV, but my roommates had a little 12 inch black and white TV with the rabbit ears. I needed to watch the tournament. I wasn’t sure I was going to watch the whole thing; it was fuzzy with the old 12 inch and grainy. I had to adjust the rabbit ears to get it to come in. After the back 9 started and Nicklaus started hitting some putts, it was something that I had to lock in. I was lasered in on that little TV. I was thankful that I had it. I couldn’t believe it, I rooted for Norman to miss at the end with all my heart and he won. It’s maybe one of the greatest sports events I ever watched. I’m a huge sports fan, so that was awesome.”
Tommy Jaquin
“I remember that was the only tournament in my life that I actually rooted for Seve Ballesteros, because I never could stand Jack Nicklaus back then. As I got older, I got to like him, but back then I couldn’t stand him. I remember we were down at Dailies downtown. I was the only guy in the bar rooting against him.”
Ed Brown
“I remember I was in college and we spent the day up at the ball field playing softball. We had a double-header and I was walking back to my dorm and I heard a huge roar coming from the dorm. I got in, turned on the TV and Nicklaus was teeing off on 18 and I couldn’t believe he was in the midst of maybe winning another championship. I saw him play 18, then rooted against the others to not tie him. I remember specifically seeing Greg Norman flail his 7-iron into the 18th green and missed it badly right and that kind of sewed it up for Jack.”
Mark Jaquin
“Well I was over at my sister Mary’s house, and Nicklaus was down early, then he started moving up the leaderboard, and I was never a big Nicklaus fan, but c’mon this is golf history, this is unbelievable. Then all of a sudden “yes sir,” he birdies 17, then I don’t know, it was unbelievable, he won on 18. It’s like history, you know?”
Al DeBenedictis
“I was in college, I was sitting on a nasty couch watching the Masters. Nicklaus, I thought he was the oldest guy I’d ever seen. I think he was 46, but I couldn’t believe it when he won. Even to this day it’s an inspiration as we’re still playing, that maybe we can still do something good in our old age.”
Michael Jaquin
“Well our favorite golfer, Tom Watson, was in contention, so for most of the front nine, we were rooting for Watson and then Watson fizzled out and then Nicklaus started coming along. Now you’ve got to understand that we’re not big Nicklaus fans at all, so we weren’t really rooting for Nicklaus either, we were kind of rooting for Greg Norman. However, when Jack birdied 17, we were rooting for Jack. When he left that 50 foot putt just short on the 18th hole, with the pin at the back of the green, (not the normal front that they have now), and he missed that thing by 2 inches, we just fell to our knees. And then when Norman bogied 18 and Kite missed the putt on 18 to tie him, we were thrilled. But it took until Jack’s putt on 17, when we realized that we were all rooting for that to go in, where our thoughts on Nicklaus flipped.”
