Both opened with a 68, two shots behind John Schroeder. Both followed with a 70 and trailed Roger Maltbie by one shot going into the third round.

"I was paired with Hubert Green in the third round, and I didn't play so hot," said Maltbie, who had a 72 to fall six shots behind. "I just remember it being an uncharacteristically hot week. I've never seen people get so sunburned my whole life."

He could not ignore the noise ahead of him, not with Nicklaus and Watson each shooting 65 to reduce everyone else to the B-Flight of this British Open.

"It was Jack and Tom, a showdown of the world's acknowledged two best players at that point," Maltbie said. "There was nobody else in the equation, and you don't get that equation very much. That's why we're talking about it now."

To this day, there has never been a major with that kind of gap — 10 shots — from a duel at the top of the leaderboard to third place. The closest to it was the 1903 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, when Willie Anderson beat David Brown in a playoff, and Stewart Gardner was eight shots behind him. No one talks much about that major. Anderson shot 82 that day.

___

Maltbie was six shots behind going into the final round, but not for long. He skied to an 80, and the only consolation was hearing history in the making behind him. The 72-hole record was shattered by eight shots that day, but for those who thought Turnberry was a pushover, consider that only one other player broke par for the championship — Green, at 1-under 279.

Nicklaus had a one-shot lead coming down the stretch and appeared to have control until Watson, fearless with the putter, rapped in a 60-foot birdie from the edge of the 15th green. They were tied, and remained that way after pars on the 16th.

Then came the turning point, and a shocking miss for Nicklaus.

Watson reached the green in two on the par-5 17th, some 20 feet away. Asked if there was one shot he would like to have back, Nicklaus picked his 4-iron to the 17th.

"I didn't hit it very well, left it short," he said. "I pitched it about to 5 feet and missed the putt. But if I would have hit a good second shot, I wouldn't have ended up with having to make a 5-footer."

Watson winced when he missed his eagle putt. Nicklaus pursed his lips when he missed his birdie putt.

Watson was one shot ahead with one to play.

___

Watson hit iron off the tee to the 18th fairway. Nicklaus planned on hitting a 1-iron, but he had to attack, and went with driver.

"If I would have hit it well, I would have put pressure on him to have to play a really good shot," Nicklaus said. "But I hit it through the fairway and it went under the edge of a gorse bush."

It might not have mattered. Watson hit a 7-iron that was pure when it left the club, and the roar of the gallery was all he needed to know it was close, about 2 feet from the cup. Watson bowed his head and raised both arms.

The tournament was over. Almost.

Nicklaus gouged an 8-iron out of the gorse bush and the rough, a stunning shot that somehow reached the green, some 40 feet from the hole. No one knew just how close Watson had hit his 7-iron, particularly the fans who stood behind Nicklaus and did their part to help him.

Only later did Nicklaus find out what they had done.

"It's a Scottish custom for good luck where they throw coins," he said. "They say there was a whole pile of coins under that bush where people walked by and had thrown them in there and wished me good luck. It was really neat."

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