The Greatest Masters Ever: Jack Nicklaus II Remembers His Father's Finest Moment

Jack Nicklaus II is president of Nicklaus Design. Twenty-five years ago he was the most famous caddy at Augusta National during his father's magical triumph at the 1986 Masters. Jack II shared some of his Sunday memories in an exclusive with Tom Edrington of AllHeadlineNews.

One of Jack Nicklaus II's great lifetime memories is his father's 1986 victory at the Masters. This week is the 25th anniversary of the sixth Masters victory by the Golden Bear. The younger Nicklaus was on the bag and had the best view on the course of what would become one of the most magical and historical moments ever in golf history. Here are some of his memories:

TE: Jack, if you will, tell us what you remember first about that Sunday.

JNII: "Walking down each fairway, each green and tee, watching people react to him. They were basically giving him standing ovations everywhere and that was early on the front nine and it continued to each hole. They were reacting not only to that day, but to what he'd done through the years. He's made a lot of great choices in life and I'm proud of the choices he's made.

"I can't believe it's been 25 years, feels like it happened yesterday."

TE: So what was going on early in the round?

JNII: "On the front nine, he's playing well and getting nothing out of it. We're making pars. He hit a great shot into six, the par three, with the pin in a difficult place. He hits it 2 1/2 or 3 feet and missed the putt. I say to myself 'Oh man, dad's just not getting anything out of the round.'

"He didn't make birdie on eight, the par five, nothing's happening. Then he made that birdie at nine."

TE: When did you sense something was happening?

JNII: "After nine, he makes birdie at 10, then another at 11 and the roars are going up and now I know something's happening and he's getting himself in the tournament."

TE: What happened at the famous par three 12th?

JNII: "Hit it long left, not a good place. He chips it up there and the crowd is really quiet. We knew before the crowd knew that he missed the putt. It got REAL quiet. I'm like 'oh gosh, that might be it.' But for dad, it re-focused him."

TE: Tell us about 13.

JNII: The second shot at 13 was the best swing he made the whole tournament. He hit his drive farther left than he wanted, too close to the tree line. He's got a real thin lie, hitting that little blade three-iron for his second shot. He has to start it below a branch, then fade it. I couldn't believe how good he hit it, so solid."

TE: So he two-putts for birdie to erase the bogey at 12, pars 14, then comes to the par five 15th, huge hole.

JNII: "That was the most excited I got all day, yes, probably there at 15. He hit a great drive. He asked me how far a three would go. He was thinking eagle. As he looked at his second shot, he told me what he was trying to do with it then I'm watching the shot come off EXACTLY the way he wanted it to. I was so excited. I walked behind him up to the green, I didn't want him to see how excited I was. I didn't want to distract his focus."

TE: You could feel he was going to make the putt?

JNII: "How many times have you seen him make a big putt when he needed it? When he made the putt, you saw me jump."

TE: Then came the great tee shot at 16, where he has a history of big shots.

JNII: "He hits his tee shot and hears me say 'get close' and he says to me, while it's still in the air, 'it is' and it tries to go in the hole, stops about three feet away."

TE: Now the crowd is in a frenzy?

JNII: "It is. He makes the putt, he's eight-under at that point and I know he's got a chance. Didn't know that Seve (Ballesteros) hit it in the water at 15."

TE: You heard the noise back at 15?

JNII: "Yes, but we didn't know what happened."

TE: Then comes 17 and the huge moment.

JNII: "He hit a nice wedge in there and we're looking at the putt and I thought it went the other way. He made a great read on that putt, said it's going toward Rae's Creek. He hit it exactly where he wanted to and it goes in."

TE: The place explodes?

JNII: "As loud as I've ever heard it at Augusta."

TE: And then going up 18 fairway?

JNII: "Well, you saw it. What an ovation! So he hits his second shot—five-iron—and a gust of wind hits it and it comes up short, leaving him a long putt. He made a GREAT first putt, almost made it."

TE: Okay, so he's in at nine-under, talk about having to wait.

JNII: "They take us to one of the cabins. When we were done, we still had no idea he'd win. There's me, dad, mom, my grandmother (Jack's mom) and aunt (Jack's sister), my grandmother and aunt hadn't been there since 1959, don't know why they decided to come that year.

"Anyway, Tom Kite's got a good look at birdie, probably 10 feet. He hits a good putt and misses. So he finishes eight-under but you still have Greg Norman out there, he's nine-under. He's the best player in the world at the time and we're thinking playoff."

TE: Norman hits his drive right in the middle at 18 and then....

JNII: "Greg hit a pretty bad golf shot for his second into 18. Way right. He hit a nice recovery and still had a decent putt for par but as soon as he hit it, we knew he missed it."

TE: Then it's time to celebrate?

JNII: Everyone's hugging everyone. In the end, it was all so very cool. I can't believe it's been 25 years."

Later, Nicklaus slipped on the Green Jacket for the sixth time in his splendid career.

His first-place check was $144,000.

But he left his son, his entire family and the rest of the golf world with a priceless moment in history.