Events at Augusta National recently, revived memories for me of the wonderful experiences I had there in 1986 and 1987. That was when I qualified for a two-year invitation to the Masters as winner of the (British) Amateur of 1985.

I could hardly have wished for a better memento of playing Augusta. In a frame hanging on the wall of my home in Bangor are three precious items - a cheque from Jack Nicklaus, a simple, personal letter from him and a picture of the two of us preparing to drive off the third tee.

All three were the result of a fourball I played with him in practice on the Tuesday of Masters week in 1986. That, of course, was the year he thrilled the golfing world, especially me, by winning the title for a sixth time.

Anyway, I played with the American amateur Peter Persons against Jack and his amateur partner in what was termed a $1 nassau. Effectively, it worked out as a fourball match with $1 on the front nine, $1 on the back nine and $2 overall. Peter and me won all three bets.

I was so thrilled to have played a round with Jack Nicklaus that the idea of being paid never occurred to me. In fact I was preoccupied and more than delighted with the fact that I happened to shoot 73, which was an excellent score for me on such a demanding course. I can't remember what Jack shot, other than the fact that he played some really nice golf.

Sam Randolph won the amateur award that year with an aggregate of 293 and on my return home I was really full of the whole thing, especially with Jack winning the title. As an amateur, it was a tremendous thrill to know that I had practised with the greatest player in the history of the game, five days before he won the last of his 18 professional major titles.

But there was more to come. On the Thursday of that week, a mere four days after he had shot that glorious back nine of 30 to win by one stroke from Tom Kite and Greg Norman, I got a letter from America. Inside was a note and a cheque for $4. The cheque was drawn on the joint account of Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and written on it was "for getting beat at Augusta National".

I could hardly credit that with so much going on in the wake of his Masters win, he still found time to write to me. The third item, came from my father, who took the photograph of us on the third tee. So, I had the three items framed. There was certainly never any chance that I would cash the cheque.

In the tournament proper, I shot two rounds of 78 to miss the cut on 156. That was the same score as Arnold Palmer with whom I played in the first round. In fact Arnold had an 80, which meant I had the satisfaction of outscoring him.

At that time, the winner of the Amateur was accorded the privilege of two successive Masters appearances. This meant that I was back at Augusta in 1987, when the most amazing thing happened on the Monday.

As I was out on the course practising, Nicklaus happened to see me and he immediately came over and recalled the game we had had in practice the previous year. For a man who meets so many people from week to week, I was stunned that he would remember me, though considering the way he thought of sending the cheque, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

Arrangements had already been made for me to practise with him again, which we did the following day. I'm not claiming convenient amnesia, but the truth is that I can't remember how the bets went on that occasion, except that another American amateur, Chris Kite, was involved.

I suspect I must have paid out because there certainly wasn't another cheque from the great man. And as things turned out, Chris Kite, myself and my successor as Amateur champion, David Curry, all had the same score of 156 to miss the cut. With 79 and 77, however, I had the satisfaction of breaking 80 in all four of my competitive rounds at Augusta.

Against that background, I was obviously saddened that recent hip surgery meant Jack was unable to play at Augusta recently. But I'm certain he'll be back to thrill the crowds once more and display his generosity of spirit to another amateur during the practice days.

Just imagine: I practised with Jack Nicklaus prior to his last Masters win and went on to play the first round with Arnold Palmer. It doesn't get any better than that.