Jack and Arnie Named Masters Starters

It took a little prodding from old friend Arnold Palmer, but Jack Nicklaus is finally making a return to Augusta National for the 2010 Masters tournament.  Too bad for us it’ll only be for one shot.  Nicklaus, who played in his final Masters in 2005, was initially reluctant to join Palmer as an honorary starter, lest he steal some of his old rival’s spotlight.  But Palmer himself was key in changing Jack’s mind on this one.

Arnold Palmer (left) and Jack Nicklaus (Image: Zuma Press)

“I have always had great respect for Arnold and his legacy at the Masters, and I did not, in any way, want to infringe on the opportunity for Arnold to have and enjoy this Masters tradition for himself,” Nicklaus said in a statement released Monday by Augusta National Golf Club. “He is so deserving of this honor, and thus I felt it was his time, not mine.  Recently, I was invited by both Augusta National and Arnold to join him on the first tee, and because he enthusiastically supported the invitation, it became an easy decision for me.”

Nicklaus’s history at Augusta National is a long and storied one.  He won his first green jacket at the tender age of 23, then added victories in 1965, 1966, 1972 and 1975.  The final of his 18 major wins came at the Masters in 1986, when he became the oldest winner in tournament history at 46 years of age.

Masters week is April 5-11, with Nicklaus and Palmer taking their honorary tee shots on April 8th, before the opening of the 2010 tourney.