The 1986 Masters by John Boyette

Author:John Boyette [Boyette, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762797646
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2011-09-15T05:00:00+00:00

Final Round

Jack Nicklaus on the 11th Hole

Par 4, 455 yards

(1) Driver to right center of fairway

(2) 8-iron to green

(3) 20-foot putt for birdie

Jack Nicklaus and caddie Willie Peterson look on at the Masters during the 1970s. Peterson served as Nicklaus’s caddie for his first five Masters wins in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, and 1975.

Clayton had been following Nicklaus on the front nine, along with longtime friend Buddy Whitfield and his family. “When Nicklaus made the birdie on nine, Buddy said it’s time for a Budweiser. Buddy thought that was a good-luck charm because he thought a Budweiser was necessary after every birdie,” Clayton recalled. “We didn’t have the time, or the storage capacity, to order another Budweiser after Nicklaus made birdie on 11. We watched all the way to the finish.”

Ron Green Jr., working for the Greenville News, also picked up Nicklaus at the turn and watched him through Amen Corner. He was struck by the fans who rushed to get a glimpse of Nicklaus. “I just remember hundreds of guys running down the hill [at 11] to catch up with him,” Green said. “Something you don’t really see there.”

Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated also noticed the lack of decorum. “That’s the day the no running rule was totally violated. I mean women with heels were running,” Reilly said. “People were abandoning their pimento cheese stations. Because you had to see it, you had to be there.”

As Nicklaus made the short walk from the 11th green to the 12th tee, he was greeted by a thunderous ovation.

“That was probably the first time I noticed Dad getting emotional,” Jackie said. “At that point, every time he approached a green or tee you could see him getting emotional, teary eyed, having to push back his emotions.”

Among the thousands of patrons congregating in Amen Corner was Willie Peterson, Nicklaus’s caddie for his five Masters wins. When after the 1982 tournament the Masters rescinded the rule that players must use Augusta National caddies, Peterson’s days were numbered. But he was still loyal to his man, and as Nicklaus came to the 12th he offered a prediction. “If he shoots 30 (on the back nine), they can hang it up,” Peterson told his buddies.

That was no hollow prediction. Peterson knew the ebb and flow of a Masters final round.

More importantly, he knew Nicklaus. The two had paired up when Nicklaus first came to Augusta National as an amateur in 1959. They had hit it off, and Peterson enjoyed the fame of being the caddie to the most successful golfer in Masters history.

Where Nicklaus was usually reserved in his celebrations, the outgoing Peterson was not. He would jump in the air when Nicklaus made a big putt, or he would thrust his arms in exultation.

He saved his biggest celebration for 1975, when Nicklaus rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th. Peterson, who was tending the flagstick, jumped for joy as Nicklaus took off on a celebration of his own. The outburst, according

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