By Eddie Pells
The Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Jack Nicklaus thought he had been through the worst after a round of 85. Then, the number crunchers went to work.

Turns out, it wasn't only his worst round ever at the Masters, it was also his worst round ever on the PGA Tour. For those counting, that's 2,235 rounds over a span of 45 years.

"I got pretty close to what I deserved," the six-time Masters champion said Friday after the historic round was over.

He could have blamed it on the conditions at Augusta National - wet and soggy after four days of nonstop rain. But when asked if they were a factor, he demurred.

"They're not if you're out there playing golf," he said. "I wasn't."

Like the rest of the field at this rain-delayed tournament, Nicklaus had to go back out and play the second round. At least there was a little good news there. He finally made a birdie - 23 holes into the event - and thrust his arms in the air in mock celebration.

Before that, it was pure frustration.

"It's the same blasted swing," Nicklaus lamented to his son and caddie, Jackie, after sailing the ninth green with an errant 7-iron. "I just keep doing it."

When the day ended, the man largely regarded as the best to ever play the game stood at 15 over with six holes to play.

How bad was it?

In the first round, Nicklaus was beaten by none other than Arnold Palmer, the four-time champion 10 years his senior. Palmer didn't exactly tear it up; he shot 83.

For the King, though, scores in the 80s aren't that unusual anymore. The 73-year-old, four-time champion hasn't made a cut here since 1983 and hasn't shot par since 1985.

Nicklaus, on the other hand, finished sixth as recently as 1998. He didn't hesitate earlier this week when asked what his goal was: "I'd like to finish first, obviously. Who wouldn't?"

Short of that, he thought a top-10 finish was a possibility if he played really well.

He didn't even come close.

He finished the day with 12 bogeys, three double-bogeys and three birdies, all of those in the second round. At least twice in the first round, on Nos. 8 and 15, he missed putts inside of 6 feet, and stood there, staring at the ball and the green, wondering what went wrong: Those were the kind of shots that used to go in routinely when the Golden Bear owned the place.

Palmer also struggled, although he didn't seem nearly as upset about it.

After shooting 89-85 last year, he vowed to quit playing the Masters, but then had a change of heart. He came back after persuading Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson to rescind his hastily drawn plan to limit the past-champions exemptions to age 65.

Palmer's only goal is to play in this thing through 2004 so he can say he participated in 50 Masters. He concedes he's only playing ceremonial golf, and fittingly, his round offered a moment of comic relief during an otherwise unpleasant day on a muddy, squishy course.

On the par-4 seventh hole, he hit a drive about 100 yards short of his playing partners, Ryan Moore and Phil Tataurangi. Upon arriving at the ball in an area normally used as a crosswalk for fans, Palmer's caddie, Cori Jon Britt, found a yardage marker and came back to The King.

"It's 196 to the front, 207 to the middle," Britt said.

"You're not serious?" Palmer shot back. Then, he pulled out a 7-wood and laid up short of the two deep bunkers that front the green.

On No. 8, Palmer gingerly bent down to place his tee in the ground and on the way back up he let out a long "Oooohhh," the groan of a man in need of a back massage.

He drew lots of laughs, then proceeded to yank his drive so far to the left, that fans around the second green had to be moved so he could hit his second shot.

"Don't get sucked up in my backswing," he cautioned a fan standing behind him.

At least Palmer could laugh. This was the first time he'd scored better than Nicklaus in the same round at the Masters since 1992, when the Bear shot 75 and the King shot 73.

Nicklaus tried to keep things light, but he knew that nothing short of the incredible would salvage the tournament for him.

"I guess I could shoot a 55" in the second round, Nicklaus said.

By sundown, however, even that virtually impossible goal was out of the question. He was lying 51 with six holes to play.