1986 Masters revisited: Friend pokes Nicklaus by taping newspaper article to refrigerator
Apr. 7—Editor's note: The Aiken Standard is looking back at the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Masters, the first one John Boyette covered as a journalist. It's widely accepted that the 1986 Masters Tournament is on a very short list of the greatest golf tournaments ever played.
It had all the elements: the best players in the world, an aging superstar, family ties galore and drama in spades. Jack Nicklaus, 46 at the time, was widely considered the greatest golfer of all-time. He had won a record 17 professional majors, more than anyone.
And he had owned the Masters, winning it five times. He had set or held many records at Augusta National Golf Club, including the youngest to win (23), the lowest 18-hole score (64), best 72-hole score (271) and margin of victory (9 strokes). But, in the spring of 1986, those records didn't mean a thing.
Nicklaus was caught between a rock and a hard place: devoting time to his family and business interests, or living up to his reputation as the game's greatest player. He didn't need to prove anything on the golf course, so the former won out. Nicklaus was 11 years removed from his last Masters victory, six years from his previous major triumph and two years from his last win of any kind.
There was nothing to suggest that he would contend, much less win, as April 1986 approached. Who could have predicted that a newspaper article, taped to the refrigerator of Nicklaus's rental home in Augusta, would spur him to one of the most stunning victories? The article It was really nothing more than four sentences in a notebook-style article previewing the 1986 Masters.