Skins Game: Tiger and Jack together at the Memorial

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Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods played together for the first time in nine years at Wednesday's Skins Game.

Welcome to a special Wednesday edition of The Live Report. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus played together -- for the first time in nine years -- in the eight-man Double Skins Game at the Memorial Tournament. PGATOUR.COM's Helen Ross was on the scene and filed live reports from Muirfield Village (all times are ET).

CINK ON TIGER & JACK (4:40 p.m.): Stewart Cink called Wednesday a "cool day" -- and he wasn't referring to the temperatures, which hovered in the mid-50s as a steady rain fell on Muirfield Village.

Cink was in the marquee group of the Memorial Skins Game -- playing with two greatest players in the game, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, along with the Memorial tournament's defending champion, Kenny Perry.

Cink won one skin, which was worth $5,000, and like all the participants in the two groups -- Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas played in the first pairing -- donated his winnings to the local First Tee chapter.

As far as Nicklaus and Woods are concerned, the former Georgia Tech All-American relished the chance to play with the game's greatest player and his heir apparent.

"They both have this ability to focus in on the task on the golf shot in front of them," Cink said. "Whether it's on Wednesday for a charity, a fun day like this, or whether it's on Sunday of a major championship, they both just lock in like radar on the shot, on what they have to do."

Like most of the several thousand fans in the hardy gallery, Cink says most of his memories as a golf fan center around Nicklaus and Woods.

"Jack winning the Masters was sort of the big thing that got me into tournament golf," Cink said. "I really wasn't a big follower of pro golf until Jack's win at the Masters in 1986. And then when Tiger won the Masters in 1997, it was my first Masters and to see him do that, the golf fan in me really thought that was pretty much -- it blew me away.

"Those two guys represent the bulk of my memories as a golf fan. To get to play with them and see it up close ... it was pretty neat." -- Helen Ross

JACK AND TIGER SUM IT UP (4 p.m.): History was served with the first Tiger Woods-Jack Nicklaus pairing in nine years. The fans who endured the rainy conditions had fun. The donations to The First Tee certainly made for a good cause. And the players themselves who participated in Wednesday's Skins Game at Muirfield Village no doubt had a blast.

And, of course, the entertainment value was first-rate, with Woods extending the competition in his group with a clutch putt on the 18th hole, then becoming the biggest winner of the day by holing out his chip in the chip-off contest, shot that Nicklaus called "Vintage Tiger."

"A nice way to end it," Woods told Golf Channel. "Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. We sure did."

Nicklaus, at age 69, showed he still has some game, winning the first two skins in the last group with a birdie at the par-5 11th.

"It was fun," Nicklaus told Golf Channel. "I think the guys enjoyed it. We saw some good shots. The old man even made a birdie on a par 5."

TIGER HOLES OUT, OF COURSE (3:40 p.m.): In the chip-off for four skins in the second group, Stewart Cink hits first as someone yells, "Let's go, Camilo." His ball settles nicely just a few feet away and Cink acknowledges the encouragement with a "Gracias."

Woods is up next ... and he holes the chip as the crowd erupts. Joked one of the other members of the group, "Can you even let us have one day in the sun?"

Jack Nicklaus and Kenny Perry hit excellent chips -- in fact, Perry races toward the pin as his ball looks to be tracking to the hole -- but it just skirts by. That gives Tiger the final four skins and $14,000, with another $14,000 going to The First Tee.

Tally for Group 2: Tiger Woods - 6 skins ($37,000); Jack Nicklaus - 2 skins ($8,000); Stewart Cink - 1 skin ($5,000); Kenny Perry - 0 skins. -- Helen Ross

GOING TO A CHIP-OFF (3:30 p.m.) Stewart Cink hit his drive left of the gallery ropes but escaped the water. Kenny Perry and Tiger Woods went right at 18 and landed in two fairway bunkers.

Cink and Perry found the same greenside bunker. Perry nearly holed his shot and the par putt was conceded. Cink and Jack Nicklaus missed their putts, but with Perry hovering close by, Woods' 12-footer falls in. The good-natured Perry swiped at the air in mock frustration.

So now we have a chip off. -- Helen Ross

NO SKIN AT 17 (3:25 p.m.): Another hole passes without a skin. Kenny Perry and Jack Nicklaus give the crowd something to cheer about though when they nearly hole shots from the greeenside bunker. Jack's shot came so close that Perry's knees buckled.

There are now four skins available at the 18th hole. If someone doesn't win, there will be a closest to the pin chip-off, just as with the first group.

As Nicklaus walked off the 18th tee, fans were yelling, "Thanks Jack." -- Helen Ross

HARRINGTON WINS CHIP-OFF (3:20 p.m.): With the benefit of chipping last, Padraig Harrington won the final three skins in Group 1, his ball ending up slightly closer than the chips of Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk.

Harrington won $11,500 for himself and another $11,500 for The First Tee. But in a nice gesture, he told Golf Channel that he would donate his own winnings to The First Tee, which will thus get the full $23,000.

Tally for Group 1: Padraig Harrington - 3 skins ($23,000); Camilo Villegas - 4 skins ($17,000) and Vijay Singh - 2 skins ($10,000); Jim Furyk - 0 skins.

CHIP-OFF FOR GROUP 1 (3:15 p.m.): The foursome of Camilo Villegas, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington and Jim Furyk will have a chip-off for the final three skins of that group. The chip-off will take place at the 18th, with the value of the three skins at $23,000.

POINTS FOR ORIGINALITY (3:05 p.m.): Just after Tiger Woods launched his tee shot at the 478-yard par-4 17th, a fan yelled out, "I love your video game."

Good timing. The latest edition of his game, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10, will hit the stores next Monday. -- Helen Ross

NEAR-BIRDIE AT 16 (3 p.m.): Tiger Woods just missed an 8-footer for birdie and the win at the par-3 16th hole.

Said one fan: "They are building the excitement for 18." -- Helen Ross

NO SKIN AT 15 (2:57 p.m.): Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink both hit their second shots on the par-5 15th well right of the fairway. Woods hit a tree and ricocheted left and picked up. Cink, though, found the green.

Jack Nicklaus putted first and his 30-footer scared the hole enough to draw a groan from the crowd. Cink's 15-footer refused to drop as did Perry's from eight feet. Another skin is safe.

It's raining harder than ever now. -- Helen Ross

CHECK OUT SKINS VIDEO (2:45 p.m.): The first video clips are in from today's Skins Game. Click here for Jack Nicklaus' first two skins at the 11th, and click here for Camilo Villegas' three-skins win at the 12th when he holed out from the bunker.

RAIN? WHAT RAIN? (2:36 p.m.): The golf fans at Muirfield Village are a hardy lot. Five holes and a cold, steady rain during the Skins Game and there are still several thousand soaking up the opportunity to see their beloved Jack and Tiger play together. -- Helen Ross

TIGER MISFIRES; CINK WINS SKIN (2:32 p.m.): On the short par-4 14th hole, Stewart Cink and Tiger Woods both found the putting surface. Cink made his 15-footer for birdies, but Woods pulled his 10-footer that would've tied the hole.

Cink won $2,500 for the skin, with another $2,500 going to The First Tee. -- Helen Ross

VILLEGAS ADDS A SKIN (2:30 p.m.): In the first group, Camilo Villegas just claimed his fourth skin of the day with a birdie at the par-5 15th after Jim Furyk missed a short putt that would've tied the hole.

Villegas won $2,500 on the hole, with another $2,500 going to The First Tee. Villegas now has a total of $17,000 for his four skins.

TIGER CLAIMS TWO SKINS (2:20 p.m.): Jack Nicklaus just wedged his third shot at the 455-yard 13th to four feet and the wet crowd cheered. Kenny Perry chipped to five feet and Stewart Cink blasted out of the bunker across the green.

Tiger Woods calmly rolled in the 18-footer for birdie and two skins to tie Nicklaus.

"You the baby," someone yelled.

Perry pulled Woods' ball out of the cup and tossed it into the crowd. A young girl caught it and fans in the crowd started taking pictures of the ball, which is stamped with Tiger's name.

Woods won $4,500, with another $4,500 going to The First Tee. That gives him $9,000 total to Nicklaus' $6,000. "That means I'm leading," Tiger joked to Golf Channel. -- Helen Ross

SINGH WITH TWO SKINS (2:12 p.m.): Vijay Singh has won two skins in the first group with a birdie at the 363-yard par-4 14th. He hit a great approach shot, with his birdie conceded. That gives him $5,000, with another $5,000 going to The First Tee.

DRIVES ON 13 (2:10 p.m.): On the 13th hole, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry and Tiger Woods hit their drives to the right side of the fairway -- all within 10 feet of each other. Perry is the long knocker, Woods was the shortest. -- Helen Ross

NO SKIN AT 12 (2 p.m.): Jack Nicklaus tees off first on the par-3 12th. Someone yells "get in the hole" -- alas, it was nowhere close. Stewart Cink's ball covers the hole before stopping about 5 feet away -- and there is silence. Cink responds by patting his chest over his heart.

Tiger Woods makes his 8-footer, and Kenny Perry also drains his putt to tie. -- Helen Ross

JACK WINS TWO SKINS (1:52 p.m.): Tiger missed his 25-footer for birdie. Kenny Perry's 22-footer also refuses to fall, so it's up to Jack Nicklaus. He makes his three-foot putt for birdie to claim the first two skins in the second group as the crowd cheers.

Afterward, he told Golf Channel: "What do you mean, it couldn't be done?"

The two skins are worth $4,000, with another $4,000 going to The First Tee. -- Helen Ross

NOW AT THE 11TH (1:46 p.m.): The par-5 11th isn't kind to Stewart Cink, who hit it in the creek to the left. The other three players lay up, with Nicklaus hitting an 8-iron from 128 yards to within three feet to gain the advantage. -- Helen Ross

VILLEGAS WITH FIRST SKINS (1:45 p.m.): In the first group, Camilo Villegas holed out from the bunker at the par-3 12th for birdie to win the first three skins in that group. That gives him $6,000, along with another $6,000 for the First Tee charity.

NO SKIN ON FIRST HOLE (1:35 p.m. ET): Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink two-putted for pars to save the skin. Steve Williams, Tiger's caddy, walked toward the cup with the flag but Tiger putted anyway ... and drained it. -- Helen Ross

JUST SHORT (1:30 p.m. ET): After finding the fairway, Jack Nicklaus hit his second shot short of the green. So did Tiger Woods, who had to hit his approach shot from the other side of the gallery ropes. -- Helen Ross

SECOND GROUP OFF (1:23 p.m. ET): Jack Nicklaus, hitting second in the foursome, found the fairway on the 471-yard par-4 10th. Tiger Woods, hitting last, landed in the rough to the right of the fairway. -- Helen Ross

A LITTLE CLOSE (1:18 p.m. ET): As the second group warmed up on the putting green, Jack shanked a little wedge that rolled up and almost hit Tiger's heel. He grinned and the crowd erupted in laughter.

Once he got to the 10th tee, Nicklaus inquired about the weather. Rain and more rain was the answer. "Don't tell me that," he said. -- Helen Ross

FIRST GROUP IS OFF (1:09 p.m.): The first group of Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Camilo Villegas have just teed off from the par-4 10th hole. Villegas is the only one who found the fairway with his drive.

Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus will play in the second foursome with Stewart Cink and Kenny Perry. -- Helen Ross

TIGER & THE COMMISH (1:03 p.m.): Standing on the putting green talking with Tiger Woods is PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem. -- Helen Ross

IT'S RAINING (1 p.m.): The rain has begun in earnest but that hasn't deterred the crowd. Several thousand fans are waiting expectantly -- and there are nearly as many umbrellas. -- Helen Ross

THIRTY-TWO MAJORS (12:45 p.m.): Obviously one of the key links between Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods is their number of major championship wins. Nicklaus has the record with 18 majors, while Woods is second with 14 majors. Here's the breakdown:

TIGER RECALLS PREVIOUS OUTINGS WITH JACK (12:16 p.m.): During his news conference Wednesday, Tiger Woods recalled a couple of occasions in which he was paired with Jack Nicklaus:

• Favorite memory from the 2000 PGA Championship. "I'd have to say the 18th hole, 36th hole. Walking off the tee. I thought the cut was going to be -- he's right on the cut. Whether he makes birdie or not ... I thought that was going to be the number, but I found out getting on the fairway he needed to make eagle to get the cut.

"With Jack and I walking off the tee, I said, "Jack, let's finish up the right way." He said, "Definitely." That means making birdie, and we both made birdie. He almost holed it off from the fairway, which I haven't heard a roar that loud in a long time. It was pretty special to see Jack kind of revert back to the old Jack of days past and for him to suck it up and hit a shot like that when he absolutely needed it the most. It was pretty fun to watch."

• First time being paired with Nicklaus: "It was a practice round at the Masters when I first played with him. It was him and Arnold (Palmer). You know, tall, thin-looking 1-iron kid. And we played skins.

"Arnold birdied the last hole to take all the skins. I remember Jack not being happy about that and basically said, 'Let's go get Arnold on the par 3 course.' I'm like, 'Really? You want me to go play? Let's go. But I don't have a tee time. My tee time is much later.' He said, 'We'll work it out.'

"So we walk over there on the tee. Just like that. It was pretty cool. For them to invite me to play basically 27 holes with them, certainly a day I'll never forget."

To read the complete transcript from Woods' news conference Wednesday, click here.

JACK WANTED TIGER (12:15 p.m.): When Jack Nicklaus saw the initial pairings for the Skins Game, he noticed that he wasn't playing in the same group as Tiger Woods.

That quickly changed.

"They had me paired in the other group, and I said, 'Unh, unh.' I said, I haven't played with him for nine years. I'd like to play with Tiger," Nicklaus explained. "So they said, OK. So we're going to play together.

"I'm looking forward to it, I really am," Nicklaus added, before joking, "I told (Tiger) I'd give him a couple of extra shots if he needed it. I'll throw my 98-mph clubhead speed at him."

To read the complete transcript from Nicklaus' news conference Wednesday, click here.

DOUBLE SKINS GAME DETAILS (12:10 p.m.): Wednesday's Skins Game will consist of eight players teeing off in two groups. Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas will be in the first group and tee off at 1:05 p.m. ET. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink are in the second group teeing off at 1:20 p.m. ET.

The event will consist of nine holes starting on the 10th hole and will be televised live on Golf Channel from 1-4 p.m. ET. Players will be outfitted with wireless microphones, so that spectators may enjoy the banter among the players during this special competition.

A purse of $100,000 ($50,000 for each group) is being offered with proceeds benefiting The First Tee. The following is the purse and skins valuations breakdown:

COMPARE THEM AT AGE 33 (12:05 p.m.): Tiger Woods is 33 years old, so we thought it might be interesting to compare how he looks today and how Jack Nicklaus looked when he was 33 years old back in 1973.

We managed to find a photo of Nicklaus from the 1973 Ryder Cup that was played at Muirfield Links in Scotland. The Tiger photo is from THE PLAYERS Championship last month.

Getty Images (2)

Jack Nicklaus at age 33 in 1973 at the Ryder Cup (left); Tiger Woods at age 33 last month at THE PLAYERS Championship (right).

WEATHER ISSUES? (Noon): The weather doesn't look good. The skies are gray and thick, and the temperature has finally crept up to 60 degrees.

I just spoke with Stewart Williams, the meteorologist on site, and he said a light rain would begin around 12:15 p.m. ET and become steadier and heavier as the afternoon progressed. -- Helen Ross

THE ONLY TIME ... (11:55 a.m.): ... that Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods were grouped together during a PGA TOUR event came nine years ago at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Woods and Nicklaus, along with Vijay Singh, were grouped in the first two rounds. Woods shot 66-67; Nicklaus shot 77-71.

Afterward, Nicklaus stole a line that Bobby Jones said about him: "He's playing a game I'm not familiar with." Then Nicklaus added: "And I'm playing a game I'm not familiar with, either."

SPECIAL FEATURES (11:45 a.m.): Check out these two special features from PGATOUR.COM on Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus ...

PGATOUR.COM Special Features

TIGER WOODS VICTORY ROOM JACK NICKLAUS PLAYER SPOTLIGHT