Tiger Woods is back as the number one golfer in the world with his win at the Masters.
The win gives Tiger four Masters titles, tying him with Arnold Palmer, and leaving him just two behind Jack Nicklaus. Tiger is the youngest to win four green jackets, although Palmer won his four over the course of seven years, while Tiger has won his four over nine years.
The win also gives Tiger nine major titles for his career. The quest to catch, and pass, Nicklaus has once again begun in earnest.
So perhaps it was only fitting that Tiger won the 2005 Masters, because as one golfing legend retook center stage at the Masters, another quietly bade farewell.
Jack Nicklaus made it clear after missing the cut that he has played his last competitive round at Augusta. Nicklaus has always maintained that he would continue to play competitive golf so long as it was precisely that: competitive golf. At 65 Nicklaus no longer feels like he can compete on a regular basis, and so it is time to walk away.
Over the last 50 years no one in the game has carried himself with more class and dignity than Nicklaus. He set the highest standards not only for his golf, but also for himself as a person. Tiger Woods may some day surpass Nicklaus’s records on the course, but he can only hope to emulate Nicklaus off the course.
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