Besides, growing up, Jack Nicklaus was my Tiger Woods. Arnie & Jack was right in my golf wheelhouse. A review copy soon arrived and I dug in.

Honestly, there’s not much I could say that hasn’t already been written in the many fine reviews. The rivalry angle hadn’t been done, and O’Connor’s reporting skills made this a book. The guy can write a sentence, too.

O’Connor is a nationally recognized sports columnist for FoxSports.com and The Record of New Jersey. He answered my questions between filing columns about major league baseball and the NFL.

DOWN THE MIDDLE: What drew you to this project?

IAN O’CONNOR: I was always fascinated by how the Augusta National crowds reacted to Arnie and Jack in different ways. It didn’t matter that Jack had won six Masters, and Arnie four – it was clear who was king there and who was not. But the first seed for the book was planted seven years ago, at the 14th green. Jack had nearly won the Masters in ‘98, at age 58, just before going into hip replacement surgery, so he wasn’t at all happy that Augusta’s elders had paired him with Palmer and Gary Player for another Big Three reunion. At 61, Nicklaus still thought he could win the damn thing, and here he was part of a ceremonial group. Jack hates the ceremonial stuff.

Anyway, as he’s about to putt at 14, Arnie walks toward me and sits down among a circle of fans and starts engaging them in conversation. Jack hears the commotion, backs away from his putt, and stares daggers at Arnie. Arnie tips his cap, the fans laugh, and Jack just can’t believe Palmer’s behaving like this while he’s trying to grind it and make the cut. It’s a small-picture scene, but it told me a lot of big-picture things about their relationship and just how different they are as golfers and human beings.

DTM: You did a ton of reporting – was it a long haul to get this story published?

IAN O’CONNOR: Two years of blood, sweat and tears. I did 200-some interviews and spent countless hours reviewing old magazine and newspaper clips in the hope of producing the defining account of the rivalry. The time actually passed quickly, as I found it to be incredibly rewarding work. It’s so difficult to do a book (especially when you keep your day job, as I did, as a newspaper columnist) that you have to be passionate about the subject matter. I can’t imagine doing a book on something I wasn’t all that interested in.

DTM: I read somewhere that you used the Arnie-Jack rivalry as leverage to get face time with them. Tell me a little bit about that.

IAN O’CONNOR: At first, Nicklaus and Palmer both declined to cooperate with the book. Their reps contacted me with word that they had some vague agreement with Gary Player to possibly do a Big Three book in the future, and that they couldn’t cooperate with a competing project. I ended up sitting down with Arnie, anyway, for a few minutes just to plead my case, and at the end of that brief conversation he mentioned that he might agree to help if Jack changed his mind and agreed to help. It sounded grade schoolish to me, but again, said a lot about their relationship. So I knew I had to work on Jack to get Arnie.

Nicklaus agreed to see me in his North Palm Beach office. He was familiar with my work; I had a weekly column at USA Today at the time, and he was a regular USA Today reader. I sat down with him and just appealed to his work ethic (Jack’s an incurable workaholic), just told him I’d work as hard on this book as he ever did on one of his golf course design projects. And he said, “OK, I’ll help you.”

Once I was through with my first Jack interview, I got back in touch with Arnie, told him Jack was on board, and voila, Palmer signed on as well. Both men and their families couldn’t have been more accommodating or accessible, and I’m indebted to them all for that.

DTM: From reading Arnie & Jack, Tiger’s large galleries and intimidation factor have nothing on Arnie’s Army. Yet Jack’s focus, even as a young pro, was other-worldly. Do you think Tiger (or anybody) could intimidate Nicklaus on a golf course?

IAN O’CONNOR: I can’t imagine anyone intimidating Nicklaus on a golf course, Woods included. Jack was quite an intimidating presence himself. Many players told me that Nicklaus could stare a hole through them with those cold blue eyes of his. Like Tiger and unlike Arnie, Jack never spent any clubhouse time fraternizing with the other players. He never wanted his opponents to be comfortable around him. Jack wanted them to feel uncomfortable in his presence on the tee boxes, on the greens, and in the locker room.

DTM: I learned a lot about the wives and how they enabled Arnie and Jack’s success. Anything surprise you? I’m guessing you unearthed new family material.

IAN O’CONNOR: I was surprised by just how close Winnie Palmer and Barbara Nicklaus were as their husbands were warring on the golf course and in the boardroom. It’s amazing to think that Winnie and Barbara could walk together at Oakmont in ‘62 while Arnie’s Army was unleashing a vicious verbal assault on Jack, but their bond was air-tight. As I wrote in the book, Winnie and Barbara deserve credit for preventing the Arnie-Jack relationship from ever getting to Defcon 1.

On another front, Peg Palmer, Arnie’s older daughter, is probably the most candid person I’ve ever interviewed. She had no problem talking openly about some painful experiences within the family, and about the burdens she carried as the child of an American icon.

DTM: As a national sports columnist, you cover many sports. Where does golf rank for you?

IAN O’CONNOR: I find golf to be one of the most fascinating sports to write about. I love the man-versus-nature, man-versus-himself element to the game, and I think it lends itself to lively prose. Golf is all about mental challenges, and those demons and doubts within every player – Tiger Woods excluded – inspires a lot of drama.

DTM: What’s next?

IAN O’CONNOR: My wife is demanding some time off before I start another book. I’d think about doing a Tiger book, but I can’t believe my chances of getting him to cooperate would be within a long par-five of my chances of getting to Arnie and Jack.

Would you like a chance to meet Natalie Gulbis?

I found this in my email inbox from her publicist a few hours ago:

On June, 24th, RSM McGladrey announced its “Who’s Behind Your Success?” contest featuring LPGA star Natalie Gulbis. Contestants must submit an essay no longer than 200 words about the most influential person in their life. The grand prize winner will get to spend the day with Natalie, starting with a morning workout, followed by nine holes of golf and culminating with a dinner. Contestants can enter by going to www.rsmmcgladrey.com/nataliecontest.

Don’t stay up too late working on your essay. Tomorrow’s a work day. At least for most people.

On Friday Sorenstam posted a three-under 70 and is one under at the halfway point of the U.S. Women’s Open, five strokes off the pace set by Angela Park.

Sorenstam is bidding for her fourth Open title in what is billed as her last appearance in the championship. She is the sentimental favorite.

“I think I’m hitting it about as good as I can,” Annika was quoted as saying. “I just have to work on a few things with my putter, and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”

Good putting is what wins U.S. Opens. So far, tournament leader Park is pleased with her effort. “Every putt I hit out there was flawless strokes,” she said.

Paula Creamer is in the hunt at four under, along with defending champion Cristie Kerr. Lorena Ochoa is struggling at plus one.

Second-round photo gallery

The 2008 U.S. Women’s Open starts tomorrow at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota. Here are the particulars:

Dates: June 26-29, 2008
Purse: $3,100,000
History: The U.S. Women’s Open began in 1946 and is the longest-running event on the LPGA Tour. It’s also one of the LPGA’s four major championships.
Format: 72 holes
Course: Interlachen Country Club
Par: 36-37, 73
Yardage: 6,789
Defending champion: Cristie Kerr

Tickets are still available. So if you’re in the area, go see the world’s greatest women golfers.

If you go, you might also want to check out the U.S. Women’s Open® Experience presented by American Express, which is now a corporate partner of the USGA. They staged something similar at the men’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

This from the press release:

New to the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, this onsite interactive area, open to all attendees, will feature an array of historic memorabilia from the USGA collection, highlighting a variety of past USGA Championship venues and landmark moments in golf history.

Also, Morgan Pressel will make an appearance on Friday at 4 p.m.

With Annika’s retirement looming, Lorena’s dominance and the overall strength of the LPGA Tour, this should be a highly competitive and compelling championship.

Today, meet Stewart Cink, winner of the Travelers Championship this past weekend. Here are five things you might not know about Stewart:

1. He’s Mr. Third: third on the money list, third on the FedEx Cup points list and third in scoring average.

2. He stands tall at 6′4″.

3. Tiger and others call him “Stewie.”

4. He took up golf because his parents (both single-digit handicappers) left him on the range while they went out to play.

5. He’s a member of East Lake in Atlanta, the same home course as the legendary Bobby Jones.

Cink is a shoo-in for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which will compete against the Europeans this September in Louisville, Kentucky.

(Source: PGATour.com)

“In light of this week’s revelation about Tiger’s health, it makes his performance in the U.S. Open that much more phenomenal,” Jack said.

“I have always said that the U.S. Open is the most difficult and complete examination of a golfer, and for him to persevere with a damaged knee and stress fracture is a testament not only to his ability, but his tremendously high level of competitiveness.”

About Tiger’s season-ending injuries, Jack said, “I understand how difficult it is for him to walk away from the game, especially with two major championships and a Ryder Cup on the horizon. But I also know that Tiger is a very intelligent young man, and he has made a decision that is best for the long term and the rest of his career.”

Finally, like many others, Nicklaus expects a healthy and successful return.

“Tiger is one of the best-conditioned golfers I have ever been around, so I fully expect for him to do what is necessary to get back to competitive shape in the shortest amount of time possible and return strong next season,” Jack said.

“Personally, I look forward to that return. Tiger is a great person and great champion, and he is important to the game of golf.”

No British, no PGA, no Ryder Cup. It’s a sad day for golf.

Then I saw this at the TIMES ONLINE:

Yesterday, speaking in Munich, Paul Casey provided the most graphic description of the injury, based on a conversation he had had with the caddie of Robert Karlsson, the Swede who played alongside Woods in the third round.

“He [Gareth Lord] said there were actually noises coming from Tiger’s knee,” Casey said.

“Clearly he was suffering. There was a moment where Tiger, I think at the 18th, stepped up to hit his tee-shot and backed off because of weird noises. They all chuckled and he said, ‘I shouldn’t hit this one too hard.’ He got it in play and made eagle. Hopefully he hasn’t done himself any further damage.”

Will Tiger ever be the same? Will this hamper his assault on the record books? I think we have about eight months of speculation ahead of us.

Meanwhile, I’m afraid golf will be treading water.

It’s like watching a movie. You know how it’s going to end. Well, you think you know. But there’s Rocco representing every journeyman who ever dreamed of winning the U.S. Open. And the guy is playing his heart out. And you think maybe this will be the time it slips from Tiger’s grasp. No one can keep doing this, can they?

Yes, if his name is Tiger Woods.

I didn’t see the playoff, but in 10 years I’ll probably be telling people I was there. Seriously, I had to drive from L.A. to San Francisco this morning. I couldn’t stop thinking about the playoff, though. So I called my dad from Coalinga.

“Rocco is hanging tough,” he told me. “He almost aced the third hole.”

In Santa Clara, I called again.

“Tiger is hitting the ball in bad spots, but his putter is keeping him in it, 12 putts in 10 holes,” he said. “Rocco has made up three shots. They’re tied with four holes to play.”

Then I heard the final result I was expecting on the radio news. Tiger won. Of course. Tiger always gets it done. Always.

But Rocco Mediate, in his own way, was just as impressive as Tiger. Let me explain.

We’ve come to expect the impossible from Tiger. Eagle the last hole to take the lead. Birdie the last hole to force a playoff. Hit shots everywhere and somehow find a way to win in the most desperate circumstances. Whatever it takes.

But how often have we seen a worthy, head-to-head competitor for Woods in the majors? Hardly ever.

The easygoing Rocco played an amazing tournament and didn’t wilt in a toe-to-toe confrontation with the ultimate intimidator. We all knew Rocco was a good guy, but who knew he had so much heart?

I haven’t had a chance to fully digest this major championship, but it must go down as one of the greatest ever. With the bum knee there was a Hoganesque quality to Tiger’s long 91-hole march for the U.S. Open trophy.

Tiger will disappear for a while now to rest the left knee and may skip the British. If he does, it may be necessary to post a flyer:

LOST: One-legged golfer, missing at last major. Answers to Tiger. And U.S. Open champion.

So I didn’t see the drama of Tiger Woods’ painful march across Torrey Pines unfold. I didn’t see the errant drives and the frequent grimaces. The knee is clearly overstressed. Even the stoic Woods can no longer hide it now.

I didn’t see the downhill bomb for an eagle on 13, or the one-hop birdie chip on 17. I missed the final dramatic stroke on 18, another eagle that gave Tiger a one-shot lead heading into today’s final round.

What can possibly happen today? What can the gimpy Woods do for an encore? I wouldn’t begin to try to guess.

One thing is certain: I’ll be watching.

Tiger Woods was the Tin Man today, all rusty and gimpy. Not doing a whole lot, just sort of there.

Then, faster than Dorothy could click her heels, the rust vanished. This “Tin Man” was draining 20-foot birdies like they were $3 gas. Tiger shot an astonishing 30 on his second nine for a round of 68.

The Tin Man with the creaky left knee is just one shot off the 36-hole lead. Heeeeee’s back.

Lastly, inspired by The Wizard of Oz and dedicated to Phil Mickelson, I leave you with this:

(To the tune of “If I Only Had a Heart”)

I would not be just a nothin’ my head all full of stuffin’
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only hit a fairway.