AUGUSTA — Jack Nicklaus can deliver a one-liner.
The six-time Masters champion walked into an interview room full of reporters, moments after the honorary starter ceremony to start the 2023 Masters.
“Thanks for remembering us,” Nicklaus quipped.
As if fans at Augusta National weren’t just lined up about 12 deep around the first tee box to watch Gary Player, Tom Watson and Nicklaus officially open the 87th Masters Tournament.
The trio – owners of 11 Masters titles – took part in one of the traditions at the Masters. First Player, 87, then Nicklaus, 83, and finally Watson, 73, hit ceremonial tee shots Thursday. The tradition, which began in 1963, continued.
Afterward, the three spoke with the media and shared their thoughts on everything from the lengthening of the 13th hole, to the technology of today’s ball, to their favorite memories of the Champions Dinner and the green jacket.
Nicklaus shared a story that – believe it or not – he never got his own green jacket until 1998, despite winning the tournament six times.
Here’s the story from Nicklaus:
“I had a 46 long they put on me (in the ceremony after winning his first Masters in 1963), and I was a 43 regular. The next year I came back and Tom Dewey, former governor of New York that ran for president, his was in my locker and fit me perfectly. I won the Masters a few times after that, and I kept wearing Tom Dewey’s coat.
“Finally in 1998, a week before the tournament, I was having lunch with (former Augusta National chairman) Jack Stephens, and I told him the story that I never had a green jacket.
“He said, ‘What?’
“I said, ‘No, I’ve won the tournament six times, and nobody has ever given me a green jacket.’ So I went home, came back over the weekend, and there was a note in my locker that said: You will go to the pro shop and you will be fit for your green jacket.”
With that, Nicklaus grabbed the lapels of his green jacket and said, “Thank you very much.”
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