Jack Nicklaus
(On the passing of Angelo Argea)
"Angelo was one of the all-time great characters in the game of golf. He had a lot of personality and was a lot of fun to be around. I guess you could say Angelo was one of the old-time caddies, who had a flair about him. Angelo was known for his white, or should I say, gray, afro, but he should also be known for being an excellent caddie. Angelo always went out early in the morning and got the pins, and knew enough of the golf course and my golf game, that any information I needed, he generally had. But I think it's as important or more important that the player and the caddie have compatible personalities. Angelo and I always had a very good rapport."
"The first time I met Angelo was in 1963 in Palm Springs. This gentleman walked up to me and said, 'Jack, I've got the caddie who's been assigned to you for the tournament.' Of course, I knew they didn't assign caddies for tournaments back then, but I played along and said, 'OK, I'll give him a try.' That caddie was Angelo. It was sort of a con job, but I let them con me, because as it turned out, I won the golf tournament (Palm Springs Golf Classic). Angelo lived in Las Vegas and was driving a taxi at the time. I asked him if he wanted to caddie for me in the Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, and we ended up winning that one, too. In fact, we won five of the first six tournaments Angelo caddied for me. It was the start of a long partnership and relationship that lasted over 20 years."
"Angelo hasn't worked for me for 20 or so years. He did come up to me about 10 years ago and asked to caddie for me one more time, so he did in a Senior PGA Championship at PGA National. Angelo eventually started doing yardage books for some of our golf courses, and he was able to use his personality to sell his services to a lot of clients. I don't think Angelo ever had an enemy. He had friends everywhere. I can't tell you how many places I would go and people would ask, 'How's Angelo?' And I would just say, 'Angelo is great.' Sadly, he did get sick; however, Angelo didn't know he was sick or how serious it was. I talked to him on the phone about three weeks ago, and it was a very nice conversation. That was probably the way it should end--on a high note--because that was the kind of person Angelo was. He was such a good guy. In many ways, Angelo was part of our family and Barbara and I will miss him greatly."
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Argea, longtime caddie for Nicklaus, passes away at 75
Courtesy of the Associated Press
Angelo Argea, who spent two decades as Jack Nicklaus' caddie and became an iconic figure for his shock of silver hair, died of liver cancer. He was 75.
Argea died October 10th at the home of his nephew, according to close friend Bill Taylor.
Argea went to the Palm Springs Classic in 1963 to caddie for a Las Vegas hotel executive when he was told more caddies were needed for the pros. He signed up with Nicklaus, believing the reigning U.S. Open champion would not show up because of a hip injury.
Nicklaus showed up, won the tournament, and he won in Las Vegas later in the year with Argea at his side.
"Jack figured he better lock me up, take me with him," Argea said in an interview with Golf magazine this year.
They went on to win about 40 tournaments together, including the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Argea stopped working for Nicklaus in 1982 and never had a chance to caddie for any of his Masters victories because Augusta National did not allow players to bring their own caddies until 1983.
They cut a memorable figure on the golf course -- the Golden Bear and his caddie with big hair.
The last major they won together was the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, at a time when many thought Nicklaus' best days were behind him. He defeated Isao Oaki that day, and went on to win two more majors.
"They just kept cheering, 'Jack is back! Jack is back!' He was grinning all over, smiling, signing autographs," Argea recalled in the Golf magazine interview. "He was so happy. We all were. People will remember us that day 50, 60 years from now."
Rossi Funeral Home in Canton said services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
Argea is survived by his sister, Loula Tsapatouros, and a nephew.
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