Golf · 1986 · Augusta, USA
The Bear's Sixth Green Jacket
At 46 years old and written off by the press that very week, Jack Nicklaus shoots a back nine of 30 on the final day to win a record sixth Masters.
65 (back nine 30)
Final round
6th (record)
Masters titles
46 (oldest Masters champion)
Age
Jack Nicklaus arrived at the 1986 Masters six years removed from his last major win, and a Saturday newspaper column that week had suggested he was finished as a serious contender. He began the final round four strokes off the lead, with his son Jackie caddying for him, seemingly just making up the numbers behind a leaderboard packed with younger players.
Nicklaus went out in level par, then turned the back nine into one of the sport's most replayed passages: birdies at the 9th, 10th and 11th, another at the 13th, an eagle at the par-5 15th, and a birdie at the par-3 16th, finishing with a back nine of 30 that tied the course record. The roars rolling around Augusta National, arriving at each leaderboard before the group itself did, told the rest of the field exactly what was happening.
His closing 65 gave him a one-stroke win over Greg Norman and Tom Kite, a record sixth Masters title and, at 46, the tournament's oldest champion. It remains the single most cited example of a great champion producing one last, complete performance well past the point anyone expected it.
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