Jack Nicklaus said itās the only golf club he doesnāt have out of all the ones used to win 18 major championships in his legendary career.
According to an article on Michigan Golf Journal, Nicklaus has for years been missing the putter he used to win the 1986 Masters, the last and arguably most recognizable of his record 18 major championships.
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He said knows where it is now. Nicklaus said that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay bought the MacGregor Response ZT 615 putter on eBay recently.
How it got out of his possession was accidental, according to what Nicklaus said in the article written by Tom Lang.
āItās kind of a funny story,ā Nicklaus said at a sponsorās event at the recent Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan. āI was playing tennis for about 10 days with Ivan Lendl, Tony Roche and Billy Scanlon. They came to my house. They wanted to get ready for grass court tennis. So Ivan and I would play Billy and Tony, and we won a few sets too. Anyway, weād play tennis in the morning and play golf in the afternoon. And Billy was putting terribly. I said, āBilly, try this. Just use it while youāre here.āā
The only problem is that Nicklaus never got the putter back from Scanlon.
āI didnāt know where it was,ā Nicklaus said. āFinally, Ivan told me, āJack I know where it is. Itās in Billyās rec room in a trophy case.āā
Nicklaus said he didnāt know Scanlon that well, but was kindly hoping he would give the putter back, or at the very least, Scanlon could donate it for a charitable cause.
In 2021, Scanlon died from cancer.
āAnd now Iām dealing with his wife who wants to put it on eBay as fast as she can,ā Nicklaus said. āShe doesnāt own the blasted putter. Itās my putter. I never gave it to anybody. He just took it.ā
Nicklaus said Scanlonās wife wouldnāt donate it, so he tried to get Augusta National, the home of the Masters, to help buy it back for him.
No deal was reached, and the putter was sold on eBay to Irsay, according to Nicklaus and an article on Golf Digest.
āShe put it on eBay and he bought it,ā Nicklaus said. āNow Iāve got to call Irsay, and I do know Irsay, so I can call him. Iāll call him and figure out some way and somewhere weāll end up getting it back.ā
No doubt, itās not only a special item for golf historians, but for Nicklaus himself.
āThatās the only golf club that I donāt have that I won a major championship with,ā he said. āIrons, woods, putters, everything.ā