Notebook: Nicklaus hints he might not be done after all

On the eve of his major farewell at St. Andrews, Jack Nicklaus is exploring ways to return to the Open next year, says his pal Tom Watson. Plus, Sean O'Hair makes a last-minute appearance, David Duval takes a sneeze break, Jean Van de Velde can predict the future, and more.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (PA) -- Jack Nicklaus has been teasing his audience by suggesting this may not be his last Open Championship after all.

The winner of 18 majors is scheduled to bring the curtain down on his competitive career this week at St. Andrews as his exemption into the Open expires. But it might not be quite a straightforward as that, as Tom Watson, his playing partner for the first two rounds, explained.

"Jack gave a wonderful speech last night at dinner," said Watson, a five-time Open winner. "He asked a rhetorical question: 'What gets me in next year?' You know what, it wasn't too much tongue in cheek and he said it again at breakfast this morning."

A top-10 finish on Sunday would enable Nicklaus to return next year, as would winning the Senior British Open next week just up the road at Royal Aberdeen. Then there is a chance he could qualify through two events in America, the Western Open and the John Deere Classic.

As for Watson, he respects the Old Course, even though he achieved none of his five victories here.

"It is a very difficult golf course to understand, especially when the wind blows," he said. "I didn't like the course in 1978, as you often had to play blind shots. But I have come to understand St. Andrews. I have learned to like it. The more you play it, the more you know where to play."

Watson has no doubts at all about the key area of his game.

"The main thing for me is that I putt well," he said. "In 1984 here, I remember the difficulty I had making putts. That cost me the championship.

"That's the nature of these greens. They are very difficult to read," he added. "There are so many different breaks, you can't figure them all out. If I get a few good punches in, I hope I can go 15 rounds."

O'HAIR JETS IN: Four days ago, Sean O'Hair didn't have a passport or a PGA Tour win. Now he has both -- and now he is in Scotland for the Open Championship after claiming the John Deere Classic in Illinois on Sunday night to qualify for St. Andrews.

His big problem then was the lack of passport, but one was rushed through for the 23-year-old Texan and he flew into Edinburgh on Wednesday morning. A White House connection enabled O'Hair's passport problem to be resolved.

"I spent my birthday on Monday on the phone screaming at people and trying to get out here," he said. "I had no accommodation, no passport, flight, nothing at all. But the people at John Deere had some really good connections in the White House and somehow they got me a passport.

"I got it around noon on Tuesday and left at 8 p.m. out of Newark. It's a complete thrill to be here," he said. "I was here once a long, long time ago when I was young and I don't remember any of it really, but it's such a cool little town.

He got about an hour's sleep after arriving in St. Andrews, and then his caddie, who also happens to be his father-in-law, woke him up to go hit balls.

"I've got a lot of things working against me like my time clock and not knowing the course," he said. "I'll probably miss the ball when I get on the first tee, but I just hope I don't miss the fairway. It's 175 yards wide."

SNEEZY DOES IT: David Duval didn't show up on the first tee at St. Andrews for his practice round on Wednesday, but he still expects to tee off as scheduled when the Open Championship starts on Thursday.

The 2001 champion, who in a nightmare slump has plummeted to 679th in the world, pulled out just before his first round at Royal Troon a year ago.

On Wednesday, a neck problem caused by sneezing meant that practice partners Davis Love, Fred Couples and Justin Leonard went off without him. Duval was able to make up an all-American quartet by joining his compatriots on the fourth hole, however.

The former world No. 1 quit golf for seven months before returning at last year's U.S. Open. After 11 tournaments this season, he has yet to make a halfway cut and is an aggregate 133-over-par.

VAN DE VELDE THE BAROMETER: When it comes to the weather at this week's Open Championship, there is only one man truly in the know. Jean Van de Velde will be the first to learn of any change in the conditions at St. Andrews, thanks to the bits of metal in his knee.

"I have a screw and pin in the [right] knee and I can feel the change of weather," he explained. "The final day of the French Open was very stormy and humid, and straight away I had discomfort."

Van de Velde has undergone two bouts of reconstructive surgery on his knee, and as recently as last October was unable to walk more than a few yards and feared he may never play golf again. The popular Frenchman was forced to rely on invites to play on the European Tour this season, but already has secured his card for next year with a dramatic second place in the French Open three weeks ago.

In a flashback to his devastating 1999 Open Championship loss, Van de Velde was leading the French Open by a shot on the final tee, but then drove into water and allowed Jean-Francois Remesy to tie him. Van de Velde then lost the playoff when he again drove in same the water hazard, but his runner-up finish was enough to guarantee his playing privileges for 2006 and secure his place at St. Andrews, the first time since 2001 he has made it to the Open.

"It feels great to have this [player's] badge. The last three years I had a one saying TV on it," he said. "I have to look at it this way: Last October, I could not walk to go and buy a newspaper, and in France I gave myself a chance to win.

Van de Velde is still troubled by the knee on occasions, and revealed that it had popped out of joint while hitting balls on the driving range on Tuesday.

He feels confident of putting on a good showing over the Old Course, a layout he knows well and likes even more, and where he believes he can redeem himself for 1999.

"There's not going to be water on every 18th all the time," he said. "If I hit it in the water on the 18th here [where the only water is the tiny Swilcan Burn just in front of the tee box], it's time to do something else."

DONALD UNDAUNTED: Luke Donald insists he will be neither daunted by being paired with Jack Nicklaus in the first two rounds nor hindered by his dismal Open record when this year's event starts on Thursday.

After five Open appearances -- the first two of them as an amateur -- the 27-year-old Englishman has yet to make the cut.

"I feel good about my game. There's no reason why I can't play well," he said on Wednesday. "I'm not coming here to make the cut. I'm coming here to win this championship."

Since Troon last year, when he three-putted the last to miss by one, he has won twice in Europe, made his Ryder Cup debut, finished second in the Players Championship and third in his Masters debut.

Now 15th in the world, he described his record as "a little bit more of an irrelevant point now." And he points out that he now has experience teeing off with the biggest names.

Donald was paired with Tiger Woods at the 2003 Open, with Ernie Els 12 months ago and with Woods again at the U.S. Open last month. He has also known Nicklaus now for two years through a Royal Bank of Scotland sponsorship deal.

Playing with Nicklaus will be "quite an honor and I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. It's obviously going to be an experience of a lifetime and I can't wait," he said. "Ernie [Els] or someone told me that I might have to bring earplugs, and it's something different to what I've probably ever experienced. But hopefully I can use the vibes from the crowd to motivate myself and use their energy to spur me on. "

MOMENT OF SILENCE: The Open championship will be part of Thursday's two minutes of silence across Britain to honor victims of last week's terrorist bombings. Open officials said a klaxon will sound at noon, with play also ceasing.

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