Golden Bear's Augusta swan song remains uncertain

Arnold Palmer played his 50th and final Masters Tournament last April at age 74.

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Gary Player intends to play his 51st and final Masters in 2008 at age 72.

Somewhere in between, it would seem, Jack Nicklaus will retire from his greatest stage. Even the six-time champion himself can't pin down an exit strategy at age 65.

"I don't think I'm going to play again," Nicklaus said last April after carding his second consecutive 75 and missing the cut in his 44th Masters. "I'm just about done. I've had enough."

After picking up the biggest paycheck of his career last weekend - $340,000 in the Wendy's Champions Skins Game - it's a decent bet that Nicklaus will play Augusta again in 2005 as long as his 65-year-old legs can carry him. He also plans to play in the British Open at St. Andrews in July - health permitting.

Could this be the end - a final one-two major punch and into the twilight? Could he play once more and slink out before anyone can raise the kind of ceremonial ruckus that ushered Palmer into retirement last year?

There are possible exit signs.

In a recent magazine story, Australian David Graham said the congestive heart failure that has forced his own retirement from competitive golf won't keep him away from Augusta in April. The longtime member of the Cup and Tee Marker Placement committee sounded as if he knew something everyone else didn't.

"I also want to be there for Nicklaus' last Masters," the former U.S. Open and PGA champ told GolfWorld. "I was there when (Arnold) Palmer finished up. I've been a friend of Jack's for 35 years; I want to be there for it."

Is Nicklaus telling his friends what he isn't saying publicly - that he'll walk away after 2005?

"I don't believe that at all," said Player of the last of his Big Three Masters companions. "If he is well and pain free as can be, he'll play. I can tell you he'll play. But if the man is in pain and his body is taking a hammering, it could be his last Masters."

Health has been an annual issue with Nicklaus for years. He missed the 1999 Masters after hip replacement surgery. A bad back forced him to skip again in 2002.

Nicklaus underwent endoscopic back surgery on Nov. 23, 2004, to relieve pain in his upper legs. The Skins Game was his first competitive round since playing four days at his own Memorial Tournament this past May. He won 11 consecutive skins with four straight birdies to clinch the title over 2004 Champions Tour Player of the Year Craig Stadler.

"I didn't expect to play this well," he said. "I think I can play better ... I hope."

Nicklaus did have to use a golf cart for half of the round due to soreness in leg legs from a strained hamstring. He said afterward that once his hamstrings heal, he'd like to "play something before the Masters to see if I can play."

The Golden Bear has cried wolf so often about his retirement, it's hard to take him seriously sometimes. He said the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews was his last, but now he hopes to do it again. His Masters status has become an annual guessing game of "Will he or won't he?"

While he says he doesn't want to be a ceremonial golfer and get the same royal treatment that Palmer received and overwhelmed the first half of the Masters, Nicklaus knows it wouldn't be right to not give the Masters and its patrons a little notice that the end is nigh. It wouldn't be surprising at all if Nicklaus came off the course on Thursday (or Saturday) and said, "Since everyone insists, tomorrow will be the end."

There will be no such hemming and hawing from Player. The man in black leaves no hint of gray area on his cutoff date.

"I'd like to play one more than Arnold played," Player said on Wednesday. "Four more times (through 2008) will be 51."

There is no question about Player's health or stamina. At age 69, he's still in better shape than most golfers half his age. In 1998 he became the first golfer over the age of 60 to make the Masters cut. He'd like to do the same after 70.

"I've kept myself in better shape than any golfer in history," Player said. "I can still compete because I'm fit and have a long swing still. I can run around (the course)."

Player says it's his passion for the Masters (not to mention his competitiveness) that makes him strive to surpass Palmer's record of 50 appearances.

"I love the Masters, what it stands for and the fact that it's steeped in traditions," he said. "I've been an integral part of the tournament since 1957 and I've acted as an ambassador promoting the Masters moreso than anyone around the world. It's a part of my soul. So I'd like to play one more than Arnold and after that I'll hang it up and see who comes along to beat my record."

Player believes that when it comes right down to it, Nicklaus will stick it out with him a little longer at the Masters.

"Golf is in our blood," Player said. "That is what Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts and President Eisenhower understood very well. It's a disease. It's part of or lives and keeps us alive. Something about the Masters makes us all feel better."

That's easy for Player to say. He can already shoot his age. Will Nicklaus compete long enough to shoot his?

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.