Memorable moments: Nicklaus wins in 1974  Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of 12 vignettes about memorable moments in the history of THE PLAYERS Championship. The 2007 event will be played May 10-13 on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. What better way to start a new championship than to have the game's top player win the first event?  Jack Nicklaus holds his plaque after winning THE PLAYERS in 1974.
Jack Nicklaus gave the first PLAYERS Championship an immediate impact 30 years ago with his victory at Atlanta Country Club during a rain-interrupted tournament held over Labor Day weekend. It was the first of a still-record three PLAYERS Championship titles for Nicklaus. In 1974, Nicklaus had failed to win a major championship for the first time in four years, so he was gunning for the new tournament developed as the players' own championship. The 34-year-old was also two weeks away from being among the inaugural inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame, then located in Pinehurst, N.C. J.C. Snead set the pace by firing a first-round, 8-under-par 64 and held a three-stroke lead over Nicklaus after three rounds. Snead birdied the first two holes on Sunday to gain a five-stroke lead, but Nicklaus rallied as the day progressed. Finally, thunderstorms halted play with the leaders halfway through the back nine. Nicklaus returned on Monday morning with a two-stroke lead over Snead and retained that margin to win the $50,000 first-place prize, his largest payday to date. "I had not won in a long time, so I wanted the TPC very badly," said Nicklaus, whose previous victory had come in the Hawaiian Open seven month earlier. "I feel as if I salvaged at least a part of the year with this win." |
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