Jack Nicklaus began his British Open farewell with a flourish early Thursday, matching partner Tom Watson with a birdie putt at the first hole of the Old Course.
As the Golden Bear strolled to the second tee with Watson, someone in the St. Andrews gallery shouted, "Another duel in the sun!"
"So far," Nicklaus replied, his lips curling into a slight grin.
Of course, the 65-year-old Nicklaus is more of a ceremonial player than a serious contender, but the presumed end of his competitive career drew a large crowd to the Scottish seaside on a breezy, cloudy morning.
The fans roared when Nicklaus cleared the Swilcan Burn at No. 1, knocking an iron to 4 feet to set up the birdie. They groaned when he barely caught the right side of the huge green at No. 2, three-putting from nearly 100 feet for a bogey that quickly knocked him off the leaderboard.
Still, there was plenty of sentimentality and emotion at the birthplace of golf, where the 18-time major champion won two of his titles and was the spot he picked to bring it all to an end.
Nicklaus' son, Steve, handled the caddie duties. Jack's wife, Barbara, and two other sons, Gary and Jackie, were part of the gallery.
"He's just so special, isn't he?" a British fan commented while watching Nicklaus at the first hole. "In every respect."
Nicklaus once said there were three types of British Opens: those in England, those in Scotland and those at St. Andrews.
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club marked the occasion by putting him in the same group as Watson, a five-time Open champion and Nicklaus' fiercest rival through the 1970s.
The two had one of their most memorable showdowns at Turnberry in 1977, with Watson winning the "duel in the sun."
Still, of all the moments that have defined Nicklaus' incomparable career, perhaps the most memorable occurred 25 years ago on this hallowed course.
In 1970, Nicklaus had a one-shot lead on the final hole of a playoff when he smashed his drive over the 18th green. Doug Sanders played a bump-and-run to 5 feet, and Nicklaus chipped down to 8 feet. Then, from that familiar knock-kneed pose, he rolled the ball into the right side of the cup.
Overwhelmed by his first victory at St. Andrews, Nicklaus thrust his arm skyward and leapt with such force that his putter went airborne, causing Sanders to duck.
"I had never shown emotion like that before, and it was totally out of character," Nicklaus would say later.
"But then, I had never before won the oldest golf championship in the world at the cradle and home of the game."
As much as Nicklaus has played the Old Course -- this is his eighth Open at St. Andrews -- he sounds as though he has developed a close and personal relationship with its famous bunkers, all 112 of them.
Maybe it's the names: Cartgate and Coffins, Cat's Trap and Lion's Mouth, Kruger and Mrs. Kruger -- and, of course, Hell.
"I don't know all the bunkers, obviously, but I know a fair number of them," Nicklaus said. "I would never think of that in any other place."
While the wind that sweeps across a links course is always a big obstacle, the bunkers at St. Andrews can be just as formidable.
Five years ago, Tiger Woods failed to hit into a single bunker over four days on the Old Course. Not surprisingly, he set a major championship record at 19-under 269 and finished eight shots ahead of anyone else.
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