The Impossible Dreamer

When it is the end of August and Jack Nicklaus has won only $106,748, there is obviously something wrong with his game. Nothing, though, that rain and a bad dream won't cure.

Rain washed out three days of play at last week's $250,000 Westchester Golf Classic in Harrison, N.Y. -- second-richest tournament in pro-golf history.* And that was fine with Jack, because it gave him a chance to catch up on his sleep -- which had not been too peaceful lately. For weeks Nicklaus had been "duck hooking" his tee shots, curving them wildly, and he had yet to figure out why. In Westchester, Jack got his answer in a dream. There he was, standing on the tee. "As I turned my shoulder, taking the driver back, I also turned my head." Presto! Next day on the practice tee, Jack concentrated on keeping his head immobile, and the duck-hook was gone.

While Jack was ironing out the kink in his swing, the rain was a godsend for still another pro: Florida's Dan Sikes, who was bothered bv dizzy spells, picked up in the second round and auit -- only to get a second chance when the round was postponed. He fired a ten-under-par 62 that smashed the West-Chester Country Club record.

It also earned him a direct confrontation with Nicklaus, whose power and phlegmatic self-confidence make him the most unwelcome opponent in golf.

In the third round, Arnold Palmer had to play head-to-head with Nicklaus; Jack shot a 65 to Palmer's 67. On the last day, it was Dan Sikes's turn. For 14 holes he held his own; then he broke. On the par-four 15th, he drove into the rough and took a bogey. Nicklaus coolly collected his par. Finishing with a 16-under-par 272, one stroke ahead of Sikes, Jack picked up a check for $50,000 that boosted his official 1967 earnings to $156,748 and broke his own two-year-old season record.

*Topped only by last year's $280,000 P.G.A. National Team Championship won by Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, who split first-prize money of $50,000.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.