Inspiring Stories of Sportsmanship by Brad Herzog

Author:Brad Herzog
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781575425085
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Published: 2014-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

After three shots each, Nicklaus stood over a putt about five feet from the hole. Jacklin’s ball was closer, only two feet from the cup. With the Ryder Cup on the line, Nicklaus took his stroke. The ball fell right into the hole. Now the U.S. team was guaranteed at least a tie in the overall Ryder Cup point standings. And because the Americans were the defending champions, a tie meant that they would retain the Ryder Cup trophy for another two years.

Jacklin still had a two-foot putt to make. He knew that if he missed—in front of thousands of spectators—the Americans would win outright. Nicklaus knew it, too. He quickly walked up to Jacklin’s ball marker, reached down and picked it up. He was conceding the putt. This concession meant that he was agreeing to credit Jacklin with making the shot. “I don’t think you would have missed that, Tony,” he told Jacklin, “but I didn’t want to give you the chance.” The two men shook hands. For the first time in its 42-year history, the Ryder Cup ended in a 16–16 tie.

Nicklaus’s gesture is considered one of the great acts of sportsmanship in golf history. It was also the beginning of a long friendship between the two men. In fact, more than 30 years later, Nicklaus and Jacklin designed a golf course in Florida together.

They called it the Concession Golf Club.

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