Golf: Bluest Chip on the Greens

No one is surprised any more that a man can earn a six-figure income merely by knocking a little white ball around the grass. Two years ago, Arnie Palmer took home a record $128,230 in official earnings. But the big man now is Jack Nicklaus, the king of the links, and he only has to work at it for ten months of the year.

Going into last week’s Portland (Ore.) Open, Nicklaus had played in 16 official tournaments, had won four including the Masters, finished among the top five in eight others. He won again at Portland, with a 72-hole total of 273, which put him 15 under par and three strokes ahead of Dave Marr. The $6,600 top money boosted his season’s winnings to $134,045, a new alltime record. That makes $409,238 for Jack in four years on the tour—only a season or so away from Palmer’s $600,000-plus, total pro winnings.