Jack Nicklaus is still the most important voice in the game, 20 years after his last British Open start

Jack Nicklaus waves goodbye to the British Open on the Swilcan Bridge during the 2005 Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews.En route to his annual press conference prior to the 2006 Memorial Tournament, Jack Nicklaus encountered a brief delay. He was locked out of the interview room. Yep, at his own PGA Tour event held at his own Muirfield Village Golf Club, the Golden Bear had to knock to gain entry.As committed to a pithy remark as he ever was to major championships, Nicklaus quipped, “See, I stop playing and you forget all about me.”The previous July, at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, Nicklaus said goodbye to competitive golf with his 38th and final appearance in the Open Championship. The venue was appropriate. St. Andrews had long been his favorite place in golf (an important distinction from his favorite course). He was smitten upon his first visit to the Home of Golf while competing in the 1959 Walker Cup. Twice, in 1970 and ’78, he had captured the claret jug at St. Andrews, and the chance to take one more walk across the Swilcan Bridge enabled him to make a graceful exit orchestrated by the R&A.