FOR THE rest of his golfing career, Corhampton’s Scott Gregory will never forget meeting Jack Nicklaus, despite the disappointment of missing the cut on his debut on the PGA Tour in America.

The scorecard read that the British Amateur champion shot 76, 72 – four-over par for 36 holes – one too many to make the cut in just his fourth appearance in a top professional event, after receiving an invite from the legendary Nicklaus to play in the Memorial Tournament, in his hometown in Ohio.

But while that was disappointing for Gregory, the week spent at Muirfield Village – the club synonymous with Nicklaus – will live long in the memory.

Gregory said: “We managed to arrange to meet up the Saturday before the tournament for a couple of hours.

“We were just talking and I asked him questions and we had a very good chat about lots of things. I really wanted to meet and talk with him at Augusta, but with his media commitments being so heavy at the Masters, I could not make it happen. Speaking to Jack was inspirational.

“It changed the way I prepared for this tournament – I was definitely more sensible out on the golf course.

“We had a great conversation about his career, his preparations and how he coped with pressure and winning all of those tournaments. It was incredible and I used a lot of the things he told me this week – and for the most part they worked. It was one of those things not many people get to do. He is just a real quality, nice guy.”