Nicklaus Will Have Hip Surgery and End His Masters Streak

Jack Nicklaus has decided to have hip replacement surgery and will not play in the Masters.

Nicklaus, who will be 59 in a week, has an arthritic condition in his left hip that has become increasingly painful and affected his play.

“I am not strong enough to play the best golf I possibly can,” Nicklaus said Wednesday. “This is also a quality-of-life issue.”

Nicklaus said the surgery is scheduled this month at an undisclosed hospital.

The winner of 18 major championships and 70 PGA Tour events, Nicklaus has played in every Masters since 1959. He has won the event six times.

Nicklaus, who also will sit out the first two majors on the Senior PGA Tour--the PGA Seniors and the Tradition--withdrew from the Senior Skins Game Jan. 30-31 and was replaced by Jim Colbert.