The Big 3 Foursome

The only time Player, Palmer and Nicklaus all played together in the final round of an important tournament was 60 years ago yesterday

INTRODUCTION from The Sports Time Traveler

My job as The Sports Time Traveler is to explore the sports sections of newspapers precisely 50, 60 and 100 years ago to find great stories.

Often I’m reporting on stories that you may vaguely know about but never knew the details. A great example of that is my last post on the origin of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in an article by Grantland Rice 100 years ago. You can read that story at this link: The Four Horsemen.

But the stories that get me most excited are the ones I never knew about, and that seemingly no one remembers or knows about. These are the forgotten stories. They made the newspapers at the time. But they didn’t make it into the pantheon of history of the game.

I found one such story this morning and I’m very excited to share it with you. It takes place precisely 60 years ago.

It’s the only time that the Big 3 of golf, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus ever played in the same group on the final day of an important golf tournament.

It happened in the final round of the Canada Cup. And oddly, the Canada Cup that year took place in Kaanapali, Hawaii. It was called the Canada Cup because the tournament was founded by Canadian businessman, John Jay Hopkins, who sought to promote international goodwill through this annual event that featured both a national team golf competition as well as an individual championship. The tournament was initiated in 1953. The name of the event was changed to the World Cup in 1967 and was played every year until 2018 attracting the top players in the game.

Perhaps the most captivating Canada Cup was the one that concluded yesterday in 1964.

Now I take you back precisely 60 years to experience it.

Kaanapali, Hawaii - December 7, 1964

I’m here virtually at Kaanapali Golf Resort on the island of Maui, 75 miles southeast of Honolulu, where the final round of the Canada Cup concluded yesterday.

The Canada Cup is both a national team and individual golf tournament.

This year, 34 “national” teams are represented. I put national in quotes because one of the national teams is Hawaii! And another is Puerto Rico!

Each national team has 2 players. Hawaii is represented by Ted Makalena and Paul Scodeller.

Hawaii has strong competition. The USA is represented by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Puerto Rico’s team includes Chi Chi Rodriguez. And South Africa’s team has Gary Player.

Player, Palmer and Nicklaus are considered the “Big 3” in golf.

In every year of the 1960s thus far, one of the Big 3 has been the leading money winner.

In every year of the 1960s thus far, one of the Big 3 has won the Masters.

And the Big 3 have collectively won 11 of the 20 major titles thus far in the 1960s.

Perhaps even more impressive is thus far in the decade, one of the Big 3 has finished either 1st or 2nd in 15 of the 20 majors played.

The Standings Going Into the Final Round of the 1964 Canada Cup

The final day on the 7,215 yard par 72 course began with the United States team of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus holding a 9 shot lead over South Africa.

The national leaderboard looked like this to start the round, with Hawaii in a surprising 5th place:

-26 USA

-17 South Africa

-11 Argentina

-3 Spain

-1 Hawaii

Individually, the Big 3 were running 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Arnold Palmer had been brilliant shooting rounds of 66, 67 and 67 to take a 3 shot lead after 54 holes.

-16 Arnold Palmer (USA)

-13 Gary Player (South Africa)

-10 Jack Nicklaus (USA)

-9 Ted Makalena (Hawaii)

-8 Robert DeVicenzo (Argentina)

-4 Denis Hutchinson (South Africa)

Ted Makalena of Hawaii was a surprising 4th, just a shot behind the Golden Bear and 1 shot ahead of DeVicenzo of Argentina. DeVicenzo was one of the top international players in the world and had finished 3rd at the British Open just a few months earlier. While somewhat of an unknown, Ted Makalena had qualified to play in this year’s U.S. Open and finished 23rd.

Only 6 of the other 56 players were under par. Chi Chi was one of them at -1.

With the USA and South Africa running 1st and 2nd in the team competition, this set up an incredible final day with the Big 3 all playing in the same foursome.

Final Round Play Begins

Palmer was intent on winning the tournament that he had failed to capture in 3 previous tries.

But Jack, beginning the day 6 shots behind in the individual play, started fast with birdies on opening 2 holes to pull within 4 shots of the the King early on. Nicklaus then birdied the 5th and the 8th, before a bogey at 9 gave him a 3 under 33 for the front 9.

Player also birdied number 2, to put him just 2 shots back of Arnie. But Player gave that shot right back when he bogeyed the 3rd hole. He finished the front 9 with an even par 36.

Palmer started steady. He parred the first 4 holes. Then he bogeyed the 5th hole and 7th holes and carded a 38 on the front 9.

The Hawaiian surprise, Ted Makalena, got off to a great start playing 2 groups ahead of the Big 3. He parred the opening 5 holes and then birdied the 6th. A bogey at 9 gave him a front 9 score of 36.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 9 holes to play

-14 Palmer

-13 Player

-13 Nicklaus

-9 Makalena

The Big 3 were all within one shot of each other entering the back 9 and 4 shots clear of the field. It was setting up to be a classic finish.

On the 10th hole both Nicklaus and Palmer hit their drives into bunkers and bogeyed, this pulled Gary Player into a tie for the lead with Arnie at 13 under, while Jack slipped to minus 12.

But on the 11th, Nicklaus got his 4th birdie of the day and the Big 3 were all tied!

A hole ahead, Ted Makalena parred the 12th, but a few minutes earlier he had eagled the par 5 11th hole.

Ted Makalena was now just 2 shots behind the Big 3!

What a finish this was turning out to be!

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 7 holes to play

-13 Palmer

-13 Player

-13 Nicklaus

-11 Makalena (6 holes to play)

At the 13th, Nicklaus birdied while Palmer and Player bogeyed. Nicklaus now had the lead for the first time.

A hole ahead, Makalena hit into the water on his approach shot on 14 and double bogeyed. It was a 3 shot swing for Makalena in the wrong direction.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 5 holes to play

-14 Nicklaus

-12 Player

-12 Palmer

-9 Makalena (4 holes to play)

Gary Player followed his bogey on 13 with 2 more on 14 and 15. Jack also bogeyed 15. With 3 holes to go Nicklaus led by 1 shot over Palmer. While Makalena picked up a shot with a birdie on the par 5 15th. When Ted parred the 16th he pulled even with Gary Player.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 3 holes to play

-13 Nicklaus

-12 Palmer

-10 Player

-10 Makalena (2 holes to play)

Nicklaus then bogeyed 16 and suddenly it was all tied again between the King and the Golden Bear. Player however, suffered his 4th consecutive bogey on 16, to fall 3 shots off the lead. He remained tied for 3rd with Makalena who bogeyed 17 up ahead.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 2 holes to play

-12 Nicklaus

-12 Palmer

- 9 Player

- 9 Makalena (1 hole to play)

At 17, Palmer 3-putted from 20 feet for a bogey to fall 1 back of Jack. While Makalena parred his final hole for an even par 72 for the day.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES with 1 hole to play

-12 Nicklaus

-11 Palmer

- 9 Player

- 9 Makalena (completed the round)

On the par 4 18th hole, Palmer needed a birdie. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin described what happened, “Palmer made a great attempt to gain a tie on the last hole but overshot the green. He chipped to within four feet and two-putted.”

Meanwhile on the last hole on Nicklaus’ 2nd shot, “a wedge from the rough stopped four feet from the pin. He two-putted for a par and victory.”

Arnie bogeyed 18. And Jack Nicklaus parred to win the individual scoring by 2 shots.

For 1st place in the individual competition Nicklaus won $1,000.

FINAL INDIVIDUAL SCORES

-12 Nicklaus

-10 Palmer

- 9 Player

- 9 Makalena

- 7 DiVicenzo

Jack had shot a final round 70, while Palmer had ballooned to 78 and Player had shot 76.

Team Competition

The Palmer-Nicklaus USA squad took the team event by 11 shots over Argentina in what was somewhat of a forgone conclusion for the fans amidst the competitive individual scoring race between the Big 3 and the great showing by the local hero Makalena.

The prize for winning the team event was $2,000 that Palmer and Nicklaus split.

FINAL TEAM SCORES

-22 USA

-11 Argentina

-8 South Africa

-4 Spain

-3 Spain

+2 England

+3 Hawaii

What Happened to the King

How did Arnie go from shooting 66, 67, 67 to a 78 on the final day?

The final round was the hottest it got all week with the temperature hitting 90. In addition, the round took 6 hours to play.

Palmer refused to make any excuses. He told the AP, “I just couldn’t get myself together. I played unbelievably bad. It was all my fault. But the team won. That’s the important thing.”

And he told Bill Gee of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, “I was never able to get back into the groove. I was just disgusted.”

The London Evening Star had a better explanation, “Nicklaus consistently outdrove the other three and his accurate iron shots to the green eased his task greatly. Palmer was often in difficulties in the rough and usually left with long putts after his approaches.”

The Players Desire to See the Individual Competition Abolished

Both Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer spent their time in the post round press conference promoting a change in the tournament format. They want the Canada Cup to be just a team event, with no individual competition.

An AP reporter quoted Palmer, “Our objective from the start of the week was to win the Canada Cup for the United States. But then it turned out we were fighting each other. This doesn’t make sense. All week we were comparing notes on clubs, positions and such as a team.”

Nicklaus agreed completely. He told Tom Hopkins of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, “We are rooting for each other and at the same time competing against one another in this type of tournament.”

Palmer was careful to point out how important he felt this tournament was while also suggesting the format change. He told Hopkins, “This is a great tournament. One of the greatest in golf. I’d like to see it perpetuated.”

Amusing Coverage of the Canada Cup

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser advertsiser ran this amusing cartoon about the tournament in their coverage of the event on 12/7/1964:

POSTSCRIPT

The 1964 Canada Cup was not on TV. And only 20,000 fans saw the tournament over the 4 days according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

So it’s likely that less than 10,000 people got to witness this bit of sports history - the only time the big 3 ever played head-to-head-to-head in the final round of an important tournament.

Not only did they play head-to-head-to-head, but the Big 3 also finished 1-2-3. This was also a rarity. Golfcompendium.com has only identified 3 times that ever happened. And it’s interesting to note that Golfcompendium.com didn’t recognize the Canada Cup as one of the three. You can read their article on 1-2-3 finishes by the Big 3 at this link: 1-2-3 Finishes by the Big 3

It seems this incredible tournament has been somewhat forgotten in golf history.

By the way, the suggested change to eliminate the individual competition in the Canada Cup was not implemented.

The Sports Time Traveler and The Big 3 in Real Life

I actually got to see the Big 3 play live, one time, in an important PGA TOUR event. It was 50 years ago, in 1974, at the Westchester Classic, which had the largest purse on the PGA TOUR at that time at $250,000 with $50,000 going to the winnter.

I was just 10 years old at that time when my dad took me to see my first ever PGA TOUR event in person. It was an incredible day.

I remember Palmer teeing off on the drivable par 4 10th hole. The crowd around him was so deep that we could barely see the King tee off.

We saw Nicklaus on the reachable par 5 12th hole. The Golden Bear had nearly as large a crowd following him as Palmer.

And we saw Gary Player hit his approach shot on the dogleg par 4 7th hole. I remember he was decked out in a matching baby blue shirt and slacks. Player had a much smaller crowd.

I also remember feeling a little sad that the legendary Sam Snead had almost no one watching him. We saw him putt on the 6th green using his croquet style in which he stood facing the hole and used a short putter that was on his right side. It’s a style of putting I’ve never seen anywhere else.

Going to see the 1974 Westchester Classic was one of the great father-son experiences of my childhood.

Thanks Dad!

And thanks for reading.