It's the week of the open championship, the 4th and final major of the 2022 golf season, and Jack Nicklaus has just been honored with the freedom of the borough of Saint Andrews. He is now 82 years of age and the 3rd American to be granted honorary citizenship at the home of golf. The other 2 Americans were Bobby Jones in 1958 and Ben Franklin in 17/59. The ceremony held at Younger Hall at the University of Saint Andrews, the same hall in which Bobby Jones had been honored, has just concluded. It's a sunny Scottish summer day, and the townspeople line North Street to get a glimpse of Jack and his wife Barbara as they make their way to San Salvador's quadrangle for a private reception.
Narrator:A good number of the guests have already arrived at what students at the university refer to as Sally's quad, and many share memories of Nicholas's career focused on his play in Scotland. Jack Nicklaus had won the open championship three times, the same as Bobby Jones, and both men had won here at the old course, Jones in 1927 and Nicholas in 1970, and again in 1978. As more guests make their way off North Street and through the cathedral's archway, careful as always to avoid the curse of Patrick Hamilton's initials, a group of 8 or so guests have congregated just inside the quad. At the center of this group are 2 elderly gentlemen. 1 is in a wheelchair, while the other leans against his cane.
Narrator:To avoid the day's bright sun, though welcomed by most, the men were enjoying the long shadow now cast by the cathedral. Some of the guests gathered around had been witness to Nicholas' winds on the old course, but these two men had witnessed something even more spectacular. They were present at Jones' ceremony as young boys in 1958 and Nicholas's ceremony earlier that day, and their novel experiences had captured the group's attention. The 2 men, now both in their eighties, share their recollections with the small group, and they note with pleasure how Nicholas had referenced Jones in his acceptance speech, even quoting him at the end of his remarks. The man seated in the wheelchair explains how Jones had also been wheelchair bound in 1958 as he was fighting the nervous system disorder that would ultimately take his life.
Narrator:He pauses his story for just a moment as if to collect his thoughts, and that's when the other elderly man completes his friend's thought by saying, and that's when Jones somehow summons his strength to stand and delivers the most beautiful acceptance speech ever. Just then, the Nickolases emerge from the archway and enter the sun drenched quad. As this happens, all but one of the group around the men flock over to greet Jack and Barbara. 3 men now remain still cast in the cathedral's shadow, the 2 elderly witnesses to history, and a younger man sensing more to come. The older gentlemen continue on exchanging stories of Jones and Nicholas.
Narrator:They marvel at how Nicholas had been runner-up in the open 7 times, including 11 straight top 5 finishes, and they share a laugh about Jones's misfortunes on the 11th hole in the open in 1921. But then the conversation begins to take on a more serious tone. The 2 elders had grown up in Saint Andrews, both sons of college professors at the university, and were privy to local history few others could ever know. Apparently, the connection between Nicholas and Jones wasn't the only link between the 3 Americans to be granted citizenship in Saint Andrews. The men seemed cautious, if not a bit hesitant, to let their conversation veer in the direction both knew they were about to head, but they begin sharing memories of conversations each had with their fathers and conversations they had overheard their fathers having with each other.
Narrator:They talk about the last visit Jones made to Saint Andrews in 1958 when a professor at the university and a colleague of both men's fathers had urgently sought to meet with Jones. The professor, as both men recall, had a very important secret to share about Franklin's visit in 17/59. The men continued on, discussing a mix of historic facts, academic theory, and speculative rumor, an oral history passed among the closest circles of the academic engulfing communities of Saint Andrews. As their conversation winds down, the 2 men pause in silence as if lost in thought. They exchange a few knowing glances and a simple nod of acknowledgment towards the younger man.
Narrator:They then make their way over to greet Jack and Barbara Nicholas. This is where our pursuit of the secret of Saint Andrews begins.