Nicklaus and son wave goodbye to St Andrews.

Mark Ferguson in St Andrews

Anyone fortunate enough to have been near the 18th hole at St Andrews between six and seven this evening were treated to an hour's sporting drama that will be remembered and recollected for many years to come.

Jack Nicklaus' final competitive round in a 'major' was always going to be emotional but the script that unfolded before our eyes today could literally have not have been written any better.

After the 10th hole, it looked as if the legend's farewell would be postponed for two more days as he got back to just two over.

However, a bogey at 12 and a missed opportunity for birdie at 14, heralded the end of any hopes that Nicklaus had of making one last cut.

Instead, attention was switched to saying one last goodbye to fans who have followed golf's greatest ever player since he first burst onto the scene in 1962.

His remarkable 38 Open appearances which include three wins and seven runners-up placings is a special record and was always likely to see fans flocking in their droves to pay one last tribute to their hero but the atmosphere today was even greater than anticipated.

Nicklaus walked to the 18th tee at plus four to rapturous applause.

After striking his final drive down the middle of the fairway, the 65-year-old 18-time 'major' winner posed for historic pictures on the Swilcan Bridge before being joined by playing partners, Tom Watson and Luke Donald.

A continuous standing ovation then continued until he reached his tee shot, close enough to the green to enable Jack to putt up and over the valley of sin.

His effort left him about a 14 footer - ironically on a very similar line, albeit a bit longer, to the putt he faced to defeat Doug Sanders in the 1970 Open championship.

Jack Nicklaus, more than any other player in history has been able to sink crucial putts on the final hole.

While it was not crucial, there was no underestimating how much the great man wanted to end his career on a memorable note.

Fighting the tears back, he struck the putt six inches outside left and just as in 1970, the ball just caught enough of the right side to end up at the bottom of the hole.

Players, who had gathered around the final green, and spectators alike rose in synchrony in admiration and pure elation for this sensational achievement - he may have missed the cut but to shoot a level par 72 on his last ever competitive round is something truly special.

He has hinted recently that he will continue playing The Memorial, his own tournament, for a few years more but surely Jack himself will now feel this was the perfect ending to an unbelievably successful career.

Playing with Nicklaus, Donald could only manage a 73 but with the distraction of all the fanfare going on around him, it was no disgrace by any stretch of the imagination.

Amazingly, Watson, himself choked to bits at the end, managed to make the halfway cut on the number at one over, courtesy of being four under for the last dozen holes.

A few groups behind Nicklaus, Woods was continuing his love affair with The Old Course.

Putting on an exhibition of controlled golf, Woods eased his way to 11 under overall after 14 holes.

Solid pars at 15 and 16 were followed by a shot of pure genius at the notoriously difficult 17th hole, better known as the road hole.

The pin was placed tight to the right side of the green but Tiger summoned up all his majesty to hit a towering iron getting it to land and stop just to the right of the pin, leaving himself a six footer for yet another birdie.

The putt slid agonisingly by and after making an error with club selection, he had to settle for a par at the last to remain at 11 under, a mere four shots clear with two rounds yet to play!

The drama was far from over for the fans adjacent to the 18th.

Olazabal, playing with Woods, managed to delight the fans even more by making eagle from the valley of the sin.

The world number one added to the spectacle by giving the Spaniard a mini 'high five'.

As if the large Scottish crowd had not been treated enough, Colin Montgomerie put the icing on the cake of a truly memorable day by knocking in a birdie putt on the last to vault himself into second place on his own.

A fantastic round of 66, which included seven birdies and an eagle, leave the 'majorless Monty' in a good position to break his duck but he and all the other challengers will have to hope Woods falters and comes back to the field.

On the evidence so far, it would appear increasingly likely that Monty & Co are realistically playing for second but they can at least cling on to whatever hope remains!