When Gary Cooper was being considered for the role of the ageing sheriff in the classic western High Noon it was said that a key factor was his arthritic walk.
On that basis, Jack Nicklaus should be entirely comfortable in the limelight, when the £500,000 Senior British Open starts at Royal Co Down this morning.
It will the Bear's first competitive appearance in this country, and it has been a long time coming. And so committed is he to the event that he has adjusted his swing to accommodate a hamstring injury which forced him to withdraw after an opening 77 in the Senior Players Championship on July 12th.
With Arnold Palmer and Gary Player also competing, the legendary "Big Three" are together in the championship for the first time. Player has won on three occasions, but Palmer, whose best finish was third behind Neil Coles in the inaugural staging in 1988, is making a comeback to an event he last played in at Royal Portrush a few years ago.
And what did he think of Royal Co Down? "I like it," he replied. "But I'd like to play it a few more times before making a proper assessment.
"To be honest, my golf is so bad at the moment that I'll have to try and lift myself before teeing it up in the morning."
Still, his very presence adds glamour to one of the most glittering fields every assembled in this country. With Nicklaus (18), Player (nine), Palmer (seven), Tony Jacklin (two), Dave Stockton (two) and Bob Charles (one), the winners of 39 major championships will be in action. But a particularly disappointed absentee is Christy O'Connor Jnr, who was deprived of the opportunity of a third successive triumph by breaking his left leg four months ago.
"I have great sympathy for Christy - it's unfortunate this should have happened to him," said Nicklaus, who betrayed understandable stiffness after completing his third round in three days.
"He made quite an impact in senior ranks in the States and has been a great friend. I'd love to have played with him here."
Ireland will still have 10 challengers, however, led by Denis O'Sullivan whose recent victory in the Scandinavian International lifted him to third in the Order of Merit with earnings of £73,528 this season. Four Irish competitors came through the qualifying process: Peter Cowley at Spa and Raymond Kane, Joe McDermott and amateur Arthur Pierse at Kilkeel.
"I haven't been putting particularly well so I wouldn't think I'm the man in form," said O'Sullivan.
Compatriot David Jones would settle for any kind of a start right now. "I thought I would be making my comeback this week but now I've been told I can't play again until next year," said the former Irish champion, who broke his left collarbone in an accident in Scotsdale, Arizona, in April.
Meanwhile, in the course of a lengthy and remarkably frank interview, Nicklaus left us in no doubt on the Ian Woosnam/extra club issue. In fact, he confirmed the attitude attributed to him by O'Connor in these columns on Tuesday morning.
"I don't fault Woosie for what happened, but he's the one who has to take the blame," he said.
"We all have to abide by the rules. I always count my clubs myself before every round; it's a habit I've got into."
Typically thorough, despite his recent injury problems, Nicklaus deliberately arrived in time to play three practice rounds on a course he hadn't seen before. After discovering he has a herniated disc, he and his wife Barbara spent a week in Italy, visiting Tuscany, Florence and Venice, before his arrival here.
"I don't mind getting old, but I don't want to get old and not do anything," he went on. "It seems the ceramic hip is the only place I don't hurt. The doctors want surgery but I don't think I want to do that. If you look at my back, it looks like a war zone anyway, because that's old age. I find it difficult to stand in the morning, but when I go on the golf course I loosen up."
His partners today will be Coles, whom he thrashed 5 and 3 in the Ryder Cup in St Louis in 1971, and Simon Owen, who was overhauled on the 70th hole when Nicklaus captured his third Open at St Andrews in 1978.
And how well did the Bear remember the birdie/bogey swing on the 16th that day?
"Pretty well," he replied. "I hit a one-iron off the tee and a nine-iron of about 126 yards to 10 or 12 feet from the hole."
The challenge now is to find a golf game that's as reliable as his memory.
