Golf's greats renew friendly rivalry at the 3M Championship

Greg Vara is covering this week's Champions Tour stop, the 3M Championship, for Devil Ball Golf.

BLAINE, Minn. -- Saturday at the 3M Championship is a special day. It's the day fans get to make memories for a lifetime.

The names Nicklaus, Player and Trevino are that of legend, great players of the past that once ruled the PGA Tour. Unfortunately, by the time the 1980s rolled around, when I was born, their best golf was already behind them, save for Nicklaus' fantastic week at Augusta in 1986.

Since 2005, however, on 3M Championship Saturday, the past has come alive. The greats of the game, those past not only their PGA Tour prime, but their Champions Tour prime, put on a show for the golf fans in Minnesota. With a scramble format and a laid-back atmosphere, there’s plenty of room for banter among the players and healthy back-and-forth with the fans.

Though there is an official event going on here, much of the audience at the 3M is more interested in getting a glimpse of the greats of the game. Four groups vied for the title this year, but the atmosphere is, to put it mildly, relaxed. It’s nearly impossible to go a single hole without a barb flying from one competitor to the next, all delivered with the smiles of deep respect these players share.

When Lee Trevino slightly mishit a drive on the ninth hole, Gary Player quipped, “When Lee misses, it’s still in the center of the club. The last time he missed a fairway, the Pope was still an altar boy."

While Trevino and Player ham it up for the audience, Nicklaus plays it cool. The competitive juices don’t leave a person just because of age, and Nicklaus might be the most competitive player to ever walk a fairway. After both teammates fail to hit the green on the long par-3 seventh hole, Nicklaus takes it upon himself to save the group and stripes a 5-iron within 3 feet. Even after such an impressive shot, there’s no show -- Nicklaus is here to win.

As for the other event going on today, Kenny Perry eagled the par-5 18th hole and shot a ho-hum, course-record-tying 61 to take the lead heading into Sunday.