Nicklaus-Palmer still the standard in golf rivalries

He said the rivalry started in 1958 when Nicklaus, an 18-year-old amateur, was invited to take part in a day honoring Dow Finsterwald.

"On the first tee we had a driving contest," Nicklaus said. "Arnold drove it on the green. I drove it 30 yards over the green. I never let Arnold forget that. I'd say, 'Hey AP, we had one driving contest, I hit it 30 yards by you.' He'd say, 'Yeah, but I shot 63 that day and you shot 67.' To me, that was the start of our rivalry. Ever since we played, we always had fun with that.

"I'd say, if I hadn't shot 39 on the last nine holes at Cherry Hills, no one would have ever heard of you.' And he'd say to me, 'If I hadn't three-putted nine times in '62, nobody would have ever heard of you.' That was our banter." There was no social media back then. Or pay-per-view.

Champ's bonus

Cameron Champ had an ideal start to his rookie season by winning the Sanderson Farms Championship, making all five of his cuts and earning nearly $1.3 million. And while he lost a chance to win at Sea Island, he cashed in another way.

Champ won $300,000 through the "Birdies Fore Love" competition by making the most birdies over the fall part of the season.

The money goes to the charity of his choice, and the 23-year-old already has the Cameron Champion Foundation geared toward STEM education and youth golf.

"Charity and giving back has always been a thing of mine and my family personally," he said. "We didn't come from much, but we always gave back as much as possible." J.J. Spaun was second in birdies and is directing $150,000 to the United Way for low-income families affected by the California wildfires.

Joel Dahmen was third and is giving the $50,000 to the Send It Foundation to support young adults fighting cancer by providing outdoor activities. Dahmen and his brother are cancer survivors, and their mother died of cancer when he was a junior in high school.

Desert start

Rory McIlroy is skipping his traditional start in Abu Dhabi for the first time when healthy. In his place, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship won't be entirely without star power. Dustin Johnson already has said he's playing for the third straight year. He will be joined by US Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka, who returns for the first time since his rookie year on the European Tour in 2014.

"Last time I played in 2014, I was ranked 93rd in the world, so a lot has happened since that time," Koepka said.