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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- The Nicklaus Slam is history. We think. But don't count on it.
The only certainty is that the one man aside from Jack Nicklaus who is sad that it has come to an end is Tiger Woods.
The past few years have been a succession of Nicklaus retirement parties at the various major championships, including the 134th British Open at the Old Course, which is the second time Nicklaus has said goodbye to the Open Championship at St. Andrews. He also said goodbye to the U.S. Open in 2000 at Pebble Beach and the PGA Championship in 2000 at Valhalla. And who could forget this past Masters and Nicklaus' swansong at Augusta?
And when the tears all had been shed at each, Tiger took home the hardware. Every time.
After this one, it seems the torch has been well and truly passed.
Nicklaus maintains that the torch was passed in 1996 when Woods said, "Hello, world!" at the news conference to announce he was turning pro at the Milwaukee Open.
"You know, I haven't really been competitive for a long, long time," Nicklaus said this past week. "This is Tiger's time, not mine."
But there's a difference between being the man of the moment and being The Man. Nicklaus accomplished more in his 44-year career than any golfer in history. He was The Man.
Whether Woods can pass him is entirely up to Woods now, but being The Man in any sport takes much more than breaking a record. It takes grace and wisdom, talent and drive. It takes deep appreciation for the history of the game and the people who came before.
Woods still may have his occasional petulant moments, but he has grown into the position he now holds as the face of his sport, if not the most famous face in all of sport.
Woods has targeted the Golden Bear's record of 18 major championships as his goal because it was one milestone once considered unbeatable. With his five-shot victory yesterday, his 10th major championship, Woods now is more than halfway there, even before his 30th birthday.
"You know that it's going to take an entire career," Woods said. "It's not going to happen overnight. It took Jack what, 25 years, to win all 18 of his? It's going to take a long time to win 18 major championships.
IMPRESSIVE
"But, more importantly, Jack finished in the top five 56 times and had 19 second-place finishes. I think that's more impressive than 18 wins.
"There's no player that ever played the game who has been as consistent as Jack in the big events."
Don't be surprised if Tiger takes a pass on pursuing Nicklaus' record of 19 runner-up placings in majors. But at least he has an appreciation of and admiration for the accomplishment.
He has, on occasion, talked somewhat wistfully of what an opportunity it would have been to play against Nicklaus in his prime. Last evening here, he was asked if he missed having a single true rival, like a Nicklaus.
"Right now, there's a generation where there's about five guys -- myself, Vijay (Singh), Phil (Mickelson), Ernie (Els) and Goose (Retief Goosen) -- and it's pretty impressive to look at how many tournaments we've won collectively around the world the past five years.
"Right now, any one of us can win any tournament that we enter, especially with the fields getting as deep as they are."
That's only partly true. Now that his recent swing changes obviously have taken root, Woods seems poised once again to dominate as he did four or five years ago. All this week, his ball-striking and course management was immaculate. He played the same kind of error-free golf that so many of his opponents used to find disheartening.
"I've been criticized for the past couple of years for changing my game," he said. "Why would I change my game? First, second and first in the past three majors, that's why. I'm excited to be able to have my best ball-striking rounds when I need it most."
Few people on earth understand that thinking more than Jack Nicklaus.
"He is a special talent and a special person," Nicklaus said of Woods this week.
Takes one to know one.