1986 Masters - Help!!

[Sean Leary]

Would Norman winning now be the relative equivalent of Nicklaus winning in 86, in terms of being written off as a contender, and considering how many people would love to see him win one?

[THuckaby2]

Some damn good what if's being pondered...

Shivas, that is very intriguing.  I'm thinking that if Seve doesn't get the turboboost, he still does go for it, within reasonable distance anyway.. laying up wasn't his m.o.  So maybe from farther back he makes a more aggressive swing and makes it... Jack sinks back to an interesting footnote, like 1998... damn this is a good one.

And Sean, if Norman wins now, really no matter how, it relegates Jack to 2nd best dramatic win ever... because Norman's about to turn 50, on top of all the tragedy he's suffered there.  But hell of a great question, fun to ponder.

[THuckaby2]

Bullsh*t!  No chance Norman winning now is even half the story of Jack winning. Jack is Jack.  That's all there is to it.  It would take fricking Arnie winning to beat that story.  

And don't even get me started on the utterly contrived and way oversensationalized plotline of Crenshaw's 2nd win....

Jeez, you're right - sorry man, don't know what came over me.  

Jack is Jack.  End of story.

TH

[ForkaB]

Eldrick's win was anywhere even close to the 86 Masters.

Hurl away, shiv.

[Tony_Chapman]

and one more thing.....

if anybody tells me that they thought Eldrick's win was anywhere even close to the 86 Masters, I'm going to hurl.  

Which one? 1997 was boring as heck. 2001 was historical and in 2002 everyone hurled all over themselves. If someone made that comment they should be kicked off the board. 2004 has to be second to Jack's day for excitement, in my opinion.

I will say, however, that Rick Reilly may have the best line of golf writing in his 1997 Masters story.

Only 47-year-old Tom Kite, who would finish second in the same sense that Germany finished second in World War II, refused to give up. He was a schnauzer with his teeth locked on the tailpipe of a Greyhound bus as it was pulling into beltway traffic.

[Sean Leary]

If one could theoretically go back and be present at the course for any final round in golf history, where would it be? Nicklaus in '86, Jones in '30, Ouimet in '13, Tiger in '97, Palmer in '60.  That is a tough one for me. It would have to be one of the first three.......

[Doug Siebert]

The '86 Masters was great, but it wasn't as out of the blue as some people now like to claim.  He'd won two majors in 1980 and should have won the '82 US Open if it weren't for Watson getting a bit of luck at the right time.  I think that because it was at the Masters made it more special.  I wonder if the golf world would have gotten as excited if he'd won the '86 PGA instead?  Somehow I doubt it!

If Jack's six footer on the 9th in 1998 had gone in like it should have, I think we'd talking about his 19 major victories.  He said after the round he was sure he was going to make it and stroked it perfectly, and didn't know why it didn't go.  He said he sort of took the wind out of his sails and he didn't quite get things together to put in a back nine charge.  Winning it after Tiger's win in '97 where half the know nothing yahoos in the golf world were already calling him the greatest ever would have really been something else.

[Sean Leary]

"Welcome to the final round at the  Masters, and you are going to believe what you are about to see"  

That opening statement by Jim Nantz in 1998, and the  "maybe, YES SIR" by Verne Lundquist  in '86 still give me goosebumps whenever I hear it..

[Doug Siebert]

You mean "and you are NOT going to believe..."

I remember that line from the opening of Sunday's broadcast.  Then they show the first page of the leaderboard with 58 year old Nicklaus sitting there, and are silent for a few moments to let everyone take it in.  Classic!

[A.G._Crockett]

So on Masters Sat. in '86, my brother calls from Augusta with an extra badge for that day, but the call isn't until about 11 a.m.  I wouldn't even get there until 2 or 3, so I beg off.  However, he has the same badge for Sunday, so I head on over from Atlanta Sunday a.m.  It's the first time I've ever been to the Masters.

We watch from the dogleg on 13 for awhile, then move over to the tee on 16, and gradually work our way toward the ropes, and I'm about 15 feet from Nicklaus when he hits the shot that almost holes out.  By then, the entire place is crazy, for lack of a better word.  The only thing that I've ever been live that was remotely comparable was the Braves-Pirates 7th game when Bream scored from second on a single to left in the bottom of the ninth, but that didn't last nearly as long as the back nine at Augusta.

And that's how I became Forrest Gump for one Sunday in April, long, long ago...

[peter_mcknight]

How Jack was able to channel his concentration knowing his business was swirling down the toilet at the same time has to be one of the top 2 or 3 golf performances of all time.  This was when Jack was spending his own money renovating St Andrews, Hastings on Hudson and going through the first governmental investigation by the feds into his business practices.  I suppose he won because he needed far more than the rest of the star studded field.

I liked the banter between Nantz and Weiskopf when Jack was on the 16th and Nantz asked Weiskopf what Jack was thinking, etc.  Weiskopf joked, if I knew that, I would have won this thing more than once!  No, seriously...

[Tim_Cronin]

Jack also coulda, woulda, shoulda won the '83 PGA at Riviera, except that young whippersnapper Hal Sutton came along and heisted the trophy with a wire-to-wire performance. Sutton shoots 71 for 274 in the final round, but Jack shoots 66 for 275 (and Peter Jacobsen 65 for 276), posting that early enough to put some major heat on the lad.
Question for the group: Does anyone have a tape of the '86 Masters third round coverage?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Tony & Chris,

"Is it enough? Is it enough? Yes! Three birdies in a row for Nicklaus--9, 10, 11!"

Darn you Chris. Goosebumps. Then the famous banging of the spike mark on the 12th green when he made bogey followed by 4, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4. Pretty good stuff.

Making birdies on # 9, # 10 and # 11 is an incredible feat, those are very difficult holes.  And then, following it up by making birdie on # 13, par on # 14, Eagle on # 15, Birdie on
# 16 and Birdie on # 17 is just incredible.

I don't know about you, but, I can't wait for Masters week.[/color]

[PThomas]

  you may recall this newbie so miserably failed Shivas' Caddyshack quiz -- pls forgive me, I'm not worthy --- but also piped up and said he knows a bit of golf history......

so since this thread has come back around,I'll post 3  of the 10 Jack questions I thought of

PRIZE:  I owe a drink or two to the first correct responder

RULE:  no looking up the answers..I did these from memory so you have to as well

1. when Jack won the 78 Inverrary Classic-- think it was still Jackie Gleason's tournament -- who finished second after Jack birdied the last 5 holes?

2. in what was probably his biggest major meltdown-- only a few of those -- Jack finished bogey bogey bodey to miss a playoff by 2 shots-- which tournament?

3. who finished 2nd 4 times to Jack in majors and never won any majors in his career?

good luck

[Tim_Cronin]

I'll try:
1. Tom Weiskopf (guessing on this one).
2. 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah. Jack said something in the locker room to the effect that a dozen people would kick themselves for blowing it.
3. Bruce Crampton.

[PThomas]

2 out of 3 , Tim

[Jason Topp]

1. Is Grier Jones.

[PThomas]

and Grier Jones is correct!!

I guess I owe you each a drink!

[Tim_Cronin]

You owe Jason a double. I wouldn't have remembered Grier Jones in a million years. And I'd feel sorry for Crampton if he wasn't such a sourpuss over the years.

[PThomas]

Grier was not very dynamic, used to wear the bucket hat pulled down over his head...

I think this story came from one of Frank Beard's books:  he tells of the time someone wanted to take a ball out of play cause of a cut, which I guess is/was normally a no-brainer for the playing partner to approve...anyway, Crampton supposedly took the ball and examined very it very carefully before finally giving the ok....