SN Archive (1986): Jack Nicklaus narrates his historic Sunday back 9 to win 1986 Masters

The 2026 Masters marks the 40th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus's historic win at August at the age of 46. This article, 'Nicklaus Ends Long Hibernation' by Paul Attner, originally appeared in the April 21, 1986 issue of The Sporting News. 

AUGUSTA, Ga.—Perhaps someday, golf may produce a more poignant scene.

Until then, this will have to suffice: Jack Nicklaus, striding up the last fairway at the 1986 Masters, waving both arms joyfully in the air, the cheers from his fans growing louder and louder until it seemed the crowd would overwhelm him with its outpouring of affection.

Nicklaus, 46 and without a victory in two years, was on the verge of winning a record sixth Masters by squeezing out a triumph in one of the finest, closest and most intense final rounds in the tournament's storied history. He had been written off as too old to be a legitimate contender for his 20th major championship. Even Nicklaus himself had wondered whether he would ever make this triumphant walk again.

There would be some tense moments ahead before Nicklaus could put on another green jacket, symbolic of the Masters championship.

He had to close out his final round by two-putting from 40 feet to par No. 18 and finish with a magnificent seven-under-par 65 for the day and a 279 for the tournament. Then he had to wait.

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First, Tom Kite missed a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 18 that would have tied him for the lead. Greg Norman, who was tied with Nicklaus when he teed off at No. 18, followed with a bogey when he failed on a 16-foot par putt after pushing a four-iron shot into the gallery around the green. When Norman's putt skimmed by the hole, Nicklaus hugged his son and caddy, Jack Jr., so hard they almost fell down.

It was the climax of a touching, draining April 13 afternoon for Nicklaus, who had to fight back tears as he walked up the 18th fairway.

“I had felt the same kind of emotion three other times in tournaments, but not like this,” said Nicklaus, whose mother attended the tournament for the first time since 1959. “I welled up three or four times. To have it happen here, at Augusta, well... the sound as you walked from green to tee was deafening. I couldn't hear a thing. They got excited and charged up, and they got me charged up. I hadn't a clue what I was shooting on the back nine. All I knew was I was hitting the greens and making birdies, and I was going to keep on doing it.”

This was a (lash from the past: the young, strong, bold Nicklaus at his peak, devouring pressure with birdie putts and daring iron shots to the pin. But this also was a middle-aged Nicklaus taking on most of the major pretenders to his golfing throne — Seve Ballesteros, Kite, Tom Watson, Norman — and whipping them all.

After he birdied No. 9, Nicklaus trailed Ballesteros by six shots. Then he carved out a record-tying 30 on the back nine, with an eagle, five birdies and a bogey. When he was done, he had put together what he called “maybe as fine a round as I've ever played, especially the last 10 holes.”

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The victory was Nicklaus' 71st U.S. victory, and he has five Professional Golfers' Association titles, four U.S. Open crowns, three British Open championships and two U.S. Amateur titles as well as his six green jackets.

But he hadn't captured a major championship since 1980—or any tournament since 1984. And he hadn't won at Augusta in 11 years. His best showing this season had been a tie for 39th in the Hawaiian Open, and in his seven previous tournaments he had missed the cut in three and earned a mere $4,403.

But Nicklaus came to Augusta with increased confidence. His longtime teacher, Jack Grout, had worked out some problems with his swing. Jack Jr., a talented amateur golfer with professional aspirations, passed on short-game tips he had learned from Chi Chi Rodriguez. Nicklaus also had a new putter, which seemed to help on short putts.

But until the final round, the tournament had belonged to the flamboyant Ballesteros and Nick Price, who pounced on a tame Augusta National in the third round and shot 63, breaking a course record that had stood since 1940 and moving within one stroke of Norman, the third-round leader.

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Ballesteros, who was banned from the PGA Tour this year after failing to play enough U.S. tournaments last season, had played just nine rounds of competitive golf in 1986 prior to the Masters. Nevertheless, he was confident. “I feel ready to win,” he said. “I'm talking serious. I could have it wrapped up by the 16th hole (in the final round).”

Ballesteros was the only top golfer who didn't complain much about the conditions the first two days. The combination of extremely fast greens and a tricky, swirling wind kept scores higher than expected.

After 36 holes, Ballesteros held a one-stroke lead, and there were five foreign players among the top eight. Asked to explain that domination, Ballesteros simply said, “Maybe because they scored better than the rest.”

The third round belonged to another foreigner, Price, who was born in South Africa, grew up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and has a British passport. Now, he's in the Masters record book after a round that prompted Watson to say: “The golf course was as defenseless as I've ever seen it.” Price took full advantage of the windless conditions and slower greens. He had 10 birdies and 11 one-putts, not bad for someone who had lost all confidence in his putter after an opening-day 79 in which he had six three-putt greens.

Ironically, Ballesteros was one of the few top players who didnt capitalize on the friendly conditions in the third round. He missed 15 putts inside 20 feet and bogeyed the last two holes, falling one behind Norman. He was one of eight players bunched within two strokes of the top, setting up what promised to be a scintillating final round.

Nicklaus, who had shot 74-71-69, was four strokes back at 214. “I found a guy on the golf course I used to know (himself),” he had told his wife, Barbara, on the day of the second round. “I'm a golfer again.”

He knew if he started putting — he had missed 18 birdie putts the first two rounds — he had a chance. “If I shoot a 66,1 can tie, and a 65 will win,” he told his son Gary the morning of the final round.

I hadn't a clue what I was shooting on the back nine. All I knew was I was hitting the greens and making birdies, and I was going to keep on doing it.

- Jack Nicklaus

But his fun didn't begin until the ninth hole. Nicklaus shrugged off five birdie misses, sank a 10-footer and followed that with a 25-foot birdie on No. 10 to go four under for the tournament. “Suddenly, I felt confident,” he said. “I got the putting going when I should have been so nervous I shouldn't be able to draw it back. I don't understand it.”

Norman double bogeyed No. 10 to drop to five under. Kite eagled No. 8 and birdied 11 and 13 to go seven under. Ballesteros eagled the eighth and 13th around a bogey at nine to move to nine under.

Nicklaus, playing in front of the contenders and gaining momentum, birdied No. 11 from 20 feet, bogeyed 12 after driving over the green—”that bogey brought me back to reality and fired me up”—and then birdied No. 13 after reaching the par five in two shots.

He stood at five under. “I told myself that I had to keep my composure, to hang in there, to let my experience work for me,” said Nicklaus, who had been inspired by a critical article in an Atlanta newspaper that said he was finished as a player. “I knew those other guys still had to come home. The back nine here can do funny things to you.”

A marvelous eagle on the par-five 15th sent shock waves across the golf course. So intense that he started hitting balls “20 yards longer than usual,” Nicklaus smashed a four-iron shot within 12 feet and made the putt to go to seven under.

Meanwhile, Norman started a streak of his own, beginning with a birdie on No. 14. He also birdied the next three holes, including a 12-footer on No. 17 after Nicklaus had finished, to drop to nine under.

Still, this was Ballesteros' tournament to win. He stood at No. 15, a relatively easy eagle possibility, knowing a three would just about put it away. But after a 300-yard drive, he hit behind the ball on his three-iron approach, and the shot landed in the pond in front of the green. Ballesteros took a penalty stroke, then pitched to 12 feet and two-putted for a bogey.

Nicklaus hit his drive into the rough, but he played a pitch shot to 11 feet and again sank the putt. Suddenly, he was ahead by a stroke. “We got here making birdies, and let's not screw it up now,” Nicklaus told himself before driving on No. 18.

He left his five-iron approach shot 40 feet below the pin, located at the back of the two-terrace green, then lagged to within a foot and tapped in. Ballesteros saved par on No. 16 but ran out of luck on No. 17, picking up a bogey after another fat iron shot. He knew it was over and waved to the crowd.

“I think the fact he wasn't tournament-hardened this year caught up to him,” Kite said of Ballesteros. “It was extremely difficult playing out there today, with the crowd noise and Jack doing what he was doing and the whole situation.”

With Ballesteros gone, that left Kite and Norman. Kite, who has never won a major title, hit his approach within 12 feet of the pin on No. 18. “I had putted from that spot plenty of times in practice,” he said. But he fell to his knees in disbelief when his putt missed, taking with it his playoff hopes. He finished with a 68.

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Norman, who spent the tournament trying to curtail his aggressiveness and remain conservative in his shot selection, weakened on No. 18. After his drive, he decided to go for the flag with a four iron. But he fell off the ball and sliced it to the right, above the pin and in the rough. His only choice was to trickle it down the hill and hope he could stop it near the pin. He got it within 12 feet, but his par putt slid past the hole.

Norman certainly isn't the first player to be thwarted by Nicklaus' touch for the dramatic. “The last one is always the best one,” Nicklaus said. “This is a young man's golf course. But it also is a golf course where experience helps you. I was able to use my experience today.” Nicklaus kiddingly talked about retirement.

But he isn't ready yet, not after knocking the young turks—foreigners and Americans alike—down a peg or two.

“I'm not as good as I once was,” he said. “But I just want to be occasionally as good as I once was. Today, I was.”

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