Jack's back.
Nine months after competing in a tournament and two weeks after skipping the Masters because of an ailing back and game, Jack Nicklaus said he plans on playing in this week's Tradition, the Senior PGA Tour's first major of the year.
"I'm going to try and compete," Nicklaus told PGATour.com.
Nicklaus said he had no plans to play as late as last weekend, but that changed after he started experimenting with an electrical stimulation device given to him last fall by a doctor from Sweden. He had been using it on his back, but decided to try it on his abdomen.
"I knew that my abs had gotten so weak and I couldn't make them function properly," Nicklaus said. "I tried it and it sort of tucked me right up, and I felt pretty good Saturday night. Sunday morning I tried it again and then I went to the golf course and found I could make a swing. I guess what it's done is pull in the abs... and pulled the pressure off that nerve that's been bothering me."
Nicklaus played 14 holes Sunday at his Bear's Club in Jupiter and was able to swing aggressively without pain. Just as importantly, he could hit the ball almost as far as his son, Gary.
"I came home like a kid in the candy store," Nicklaus said. "I told Barbara to pack her bags."
Nicklaus' decision to play was sealed when he shot a two-under 70 Monday while opening his Bear's Best Las Vegas course. Nicklaus has won the Tradition four times. His victory in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1996 was the last official win of his Hall of Fame career.
"I don't get very depressed, but I've been depressed," said Nicklaus, 62. "If you like to do something and you can't do it and you've tried everything you can, obviously you get down and upset with everything. I hope whatever I've found allows me to play. I have to rework my schedule for the rest of the year to allow for some golf and that's nice.
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