Nicklaus denied St. Andrews honor

Bobby Jones got it, but apparently Jack Nicklaus won't.
The it in this case is honorary citizenship of St. Andrews. Nicklaus, who is expected to play in his last British Open at St. Andrews in July, was denied the honor by the town council and deemed "unworthy."
Several golfers are hitting back at the council, saying if any golfer deserved the honor, it was Nicklaus.
"What surprised me was that they even thought a vote was necessary in the first place. If you have the combination of St Andrews, Jack Nicklaus and an honorary award, then it could hardly be more straightforward," said Colin Montgomerie.
Luke Donald: "It seems very strange to me that this matter should be discussed publicly and then the individual is told that he wasn't good enough to be given the award. Nicklaus has won in St Andrews and has nothing but good to say about the place.
"Jack is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, players to have ever graced the Open in St Andrews."
Others were critical of the council making the decision in private.
If you want to read the whole sorry account, check out the Scotsman here.
Interestingly, there is no comment or even a no comment from the St. Andrews council in the story. It would be interesting to see what they had to say in their defence.

• Also worth a read today is a story in T&L Golf about Scotland's northern courses.