“I just thought that it was suitable that the last place should be here, at the home of golf,” he said this morning. “I remember speaking to Peter Dawson (R and A chief executive) in 2000 about when they’d be holding the Championship here next and he indicated 2006, the year after I was 65 and wouldn’t have been exempt.

“Then I read it was going to be 2005 and I think it was either a nice coincidence or a great compliment, so I felt like it would be nice to come one more time. However, if I win this week, it won’t be my last Open after all!”

Nicklaus has always regarded being competitive as more important than coming to play ceremonial golf, but he appreciates it is a mixture of the two this week.

“I don’t like playing when I am not competitive, and I haven’t been competitive for seven or eight years now,” he said. “When that went, playing golf really lost it’s glow for me. I haven’t really enjoyed playing golf recently, and I’m looking forward to playing knowing that I don’t have to get competitive for the next Masters or the next Open — I think I’ll be really good at enjoying life after competitive golf has gone.”

He does, however, entertain real aspirations of making the cut this week, as a result of some changes in his swing.

“I was playing terrible golf, a real mess, up until I made a couple of changes in my swing and my posture, and I’ve been enjoying playing for the first time in a long while as a result,” he said.

Nicklaus was controversially not granted honorary citizenship of St Andrews by the community council this year, but he feels that the Scottish people, in general, adopted him.

“The people in Scotland like their golfers and they like their winners, and they’ve been just magnificent to me all these years,” he said. “The crowd here is different than in the States, there the galleries are all simply sports fans. Here, most of them seem to be golfers and appreciate what you’re trying to do.

“I’ve played eight Opens here and I know the Old Course well, and I’ve been honoured by many things here over the years.”

Jack is delighted to have been paired with his old friend and rival Tom Watson for the first two days, along with up-and-coming Englishman Luke Donald.

“I hope Luke doesn’t feel that he’s been placed in a ceremonial group with myself and Tom, because I know neither of us feel that way,” he said.

“Luke’s one of the most promising young players from this country and I’m positive that we’re all going to have a good couple of days and, hopefully, we’ll all be here at the weekend as well.”