Jack Nicklaus Gets on a Roll

One of his best finishes was in the 1978 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic

Feb 24, 2022

The PGA TOUR switches to the Florida swing this week with the playing of the Honda Classic. This tournament was first played in 1972 and was known as Jackie Gleason’s Inverrary Classic. We’re going to look at the 1978 tournament where Jack Nicklaus got on a roll on the last five holes for one of his greatest finishes.

If you are receiving this email, then you are on our premium subscriber list. You are on this list as a symbol of gratitude for your support. We have posted our first premium content and it is about how PGA TOUR history fits into the Saudi backed LIV tour controversy. You can access it HERE.

Congratulations to Bob Corteway, a subscriber to this newsletter and the winner in the WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest from last week. The featured hole was #18 at the Riviera Country Club. Scroll down for your chance to win this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? Our new policy is to post a link to this newsletter on our Facebook announcements instead of allowing entries from the Facebook page comment section.

We’re playing some Guess The Tee Marker this week. Scroll down to play.

This week’s vintage ad features Jackie Gleason. Scroll down to view.

Did you miss a previous newsletter? You can view it HERE. Forward this email to a friend. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up HERE.

Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going.

Jack Nicklaus Charges to the Finish at The Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic

Jack Nicklaus did something he rarely did; he gave away the 1978 L.A. Open on the back nine with a bogey and double bogey. The next week, at the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, he posted a disappointing second round 75 and stood well down the leader board. His round featured five birdies, but they were offset by six bogeys and a double bogey.

He entered the third round seven strokes behind the leaders, Barry Jaeckel (son of actor Richard Jaeckel), Andy Bean, and Danny Edwards. Grier Jones was one shot off the lead and Hale Irwin was two shots behind.

In the third round, Nicklaus made a slight adjustment to his swing on the fourth hole which propelled him to a round of 66. He carded seven birdies but was disappointed with the only bogey of the round, at the 17th hole.

“I was sort of shooting for a 65 when I teed off this morning and I had the 65 and let it get away,” Nicklaus said after his round.

Hale Irwin held the lead at 209 and Nicklaus was two shots back at 211. Howard Twitty, Grier Jones and Andy Bean were all at 210. The stage was set for the final round with the champion receiving a $50,000 payday.

Nicklaus was paired with Grier Jones and Hale Irwin in the final round. Jones kept the heat on Nicklaus eventually finishing 4 under for the day while Irwin eventually finished the day 1 under. But Nicklaus turned the tournament around at the 14th hole. Using a 3-iron, Nicklaus hit a bump and run chip and sank the 80-foot shot for a birdie.

“It turned the whole day around,” Jones said after the round.

Nicklaus followed up with a birdie on the 15th hole despite hitting his tee shot into the woods. Jones also birdied the hole and remained two shots ahead. Nicklaus then chipped in from the fringe, about 18-feet from the hole, for a birdie on 16, cutting Jones’ lead to just one. He sank a long putt of 20-feet for another birdie on the 17th hole and was now tied for the lead. He then knocked a 9-iron to four feet and rolled in the putt on the 18th hole for his fifth birdie in a row and the victory. Jones finished one shot behind while Irwin was another stroke back.

“I’ve played well in quite a few tournaments, but I haven’t pushed one over. Winning again is fun, particularly after throwing last week away,” Nicklaus said.

Jack Nicklaus (l) and Jackie Gleason (r) at the press conference following the final round at the 1978 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic

Check out the bonus fact below for more on Nicklaus’ fantastic finish.

The playlist this week is a best of 1978. Listen HERE .

Please help us grow by forwarding this email to a friend who would enjoy it. Thanks.

Share Tour Backspin

Enjoy!
Larry Baush

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

Thanks for reading! Please let your family, friends and colleagues know they
can sign up for email delivery of this free newsletter through this link.

WHAT HOLE IS IT?

Click to Answer

CLICK TO ANSWER

Are you on the leader board?

Tour Backspin Quiz | Guess The Tee Marker

Do you know where this tee marker is from?

Answer below

Bonus Story

Nicklaus had fond memories of the finish at the 1978 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic and spoke about them to Randall Mell of the South Florida SunSentinel in 1998.

“It was kinda neat,” Nicklaus said about getting on a roll at the end of the fourth round. “It was kind of fun.

“I got myself on a roll. It happened to me a number of times in my career where I got on a roll, and all of a sudden . . . It was like that at the 1986 Masters. You get on a roll and you just keep going. Sometimes, don’t realize you’re on a roll until it is over.”

Lee Trevino said about Nicklaus’ finish, “It’s the most remarkable thing I’ve witnessed in my life.”

“The man’s amazing,” Hale Irwin, who had a front row seat to the finish having played with Nicklaus in the fourth round. “He birdied number 16, walked across water to number 17 and teed it up . . . All I’ve got to say is I saw the finest golf played today that I’ve ever seen played in my life.”