Oh Jack. It pains me to see you endorsing a man like Romney when throughout your life you've displayed an unerring instinct for fair play and honesty. As much any sportsman of any era you've played by the rules, respected the game, encouraged broader more inclusive access to the privileged world of golf. You had class and perspective... conceding that putt to Tony Jacklin in 1969 spoke volumes. You embraced the history of the game and became beloved by Scots (like me) who are never impressed or fooled by phony patricians. What happened?
No golfer has ever understood and calculated the myriad of factors: wind; weather; type of grass; grain; elevation; firmness; and competition the way Jack did. Ask him on Thursday what the winning score would be on Sunday and invariably he'd be within a stroke or two.
If the "green" is a metaphor for the commons, I'm shocked that Jack's powers of deduction and integrity have diminished so greatly that he'd ignore the blatant dishonesty, deception and entitlement of a party far removed from any Republican his father Charlie might have voted for.
Nicklaus grew up the beneficiary of an upper-middle class background. Golf opened doors to privilege, wealth and security that the spectators on the other side of the ropes seldom enjoyed. I never felt that Jack lost sight of that fact till now and I can't believe that he'd stand anywhere near the liar and cheat that is Romney.
Everything about Romney seems antithetical to Jack's integrity. Mitt is the poster child for the dishonest golfer: he improves his lie (overpays his taxes to engineer a false tax rate); fudges his scorecard (Bain's record of job creation); talks while others are putting (Libya); and miraculously finds his lost ball (saying he's for the 100% after trashing half the country) deep in the woods.
Romney hasn't the character to tell the truth far less call a penalty on himself. I'm dismayed that the greatest golfer of all time would associate himself with a sandbagging cheat and his weasel, marathon-shaving caddie.
It's a sad day for golf.