I think Shackelford needs to let some of you guys start topics on his site so it cuts down the OT threads over here. That being said...
Did Nicklaus ever blow two majors in one year as Woods already has in 2007? Someone told me that Watson stole two championships where Nicklaus had the lead in 77.
John:
Nicklaus lost two majors in '77 to Watson, but whether he "blew" it in either one is subject to debate. He was three off the lead entering the final round at Augusta, and shot 66, holding the lead at one time. Watson, the overnight leader, shot 67, including a birdie on 17 to essentially clinch it. Not exactly a choke job, just getting outplayed (the '77 Masters leaderboard was as rich as any in modern history; of the top 12 finishers, all but two had or would go on to win a major -- Watson, Nicklaus, Kite, Irwin, David and Lou Graham, Crenshaw, Floyd, Hubert Green, January, and Littler.)
At Turnberry that year, Watson and Nicklaus entered the final two rounds tied for second, one shot off the lead. Nicklaus went 65-66 on the weekend; Watson went 65-65. Watson's 50-foot bomb on 15 put him ahead, and he clinched it with an iron to about two feet on 18. Nicklaus' last two shots at Turnberry -- where he literally took out a bush on his second shot after driving into the rough, then sunk a curling, 30-footer for birdie -- were pretty memorable, and not the stuff of a guy throwing away a tourney.