AUGUSTA – Jack Nicklaus, ever the steely- faced competitor who’s always tried to squeeze the best out of every golf shot he ever hit, has always been as adept at concealing his emotions from the outside world as he has draining that must-make putt – even in the face of the most emotional moments.

But when he began his walk up to the ninth green yesterday, which was the final hole of his round, his 45th Masters and – as it turns out – of his competitive tournament career at Augusta National, Nicklaus’ cards were vulnerably laid out on the table for the world to see as tears poured down his face and he found himself unable to even spit out words to his son and caddie, Jackie.

The outpouring of emotion began before the 65-year-old Nicklaus hit his approach shot to the ninth green.

“Before he hit his second shot on nine he looked at me and said, ‘It’s been sweet,’ ” Jackie Nicklaus was saying now, standing under the gigantic fabled old oak tree next to the clubhouse. “He got so choked up I kind of felt, ‘Yeah, maybe he’s thinking, this is it.’ ”

Fittingly, Nicklaus went out in style, stuffing a 6-iron to five feet below the hole on the treacherous ninth.

This is when one of sport’s fiercest, most competitive battlers of all time lost control of his emotions.

“We started to walk up the hill to the ninth green and he looked at me and said, ‘I can’t talk,’ ” Jackie Nicklaus said. “It caught me off guard a bit, because I’d never seen him like that and he always has something to say. But I knew why. He was all emotional. Tears were pouring out of his eyes.

“I think in his mind he knew it was his last time playing here. I looked at him and I told him I loved him.”

When Nicklaus reached the green, hat off and waving his signature waves, a huge crowd gathered, jockeying for position through the sea of mud from this week’s rain. Nicklaus stood beside playing partner Jay Haas, who put his arm around the greatest player in the history of the game and said, “Thanks for being an unbelievable example to everyone out here.”

The two men then shared a cry for a moment and Haas, who was flirting with the 4-over-par cut line at 3-over, said, “Cut it out now. I’ve got to make this putt.”

The only blemish to the day – aside from the fact the Masters officials didn’t have the foresight to make sure Nicklaus would finish his second round on No. 18 – was that Nicklaus missed that five-footer for birdie, his final putt in Masters competition.

“I wanted him to make that putt worse than I wanted to make mine,” Haas would say later.

“I was pretty good all day [with my emotions] until the ninth fairway,” Nicklaus said. “I just knew it was my last time playing here.”

Nicklaus’ par on No. 9 left him with a second-round 76, which, coupled with the opening-round 77, left him five shots outside the cut, which he so badly wanted to make.

“This tournament is a treasure for me and I’ll miss it greatly,” Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus will play his final major championship in competition next month when he tees it up at St. Andrews for the Open Championship.

“My two favorite places in the game of golf are Augusta National and St. Andrews,” Nicklaus said, “and I’m going to hit them both this year.”

Shortly after receiving an unheard-of standing ovation from the jam-packed press center following his press conference, Nicklaus got into a white sedan and drove down Magnolia Lane, leaving the grounds as Masters competitor for the last time.

Asked where he’ll watch today’s final round, Nicklaus said, “I probably won’t even watch it. I’ll be fishing.”

Farewell, Jack

Five-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus failed to make the cut after the second round yesterday, in what was his last at Augusta. Here’s his scorecard:

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOTAL

Par 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 36 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 36 72

Nicklaus 5 5 5 3 4 3 4 5 4 38 5 5 3 6 5 4 2 4 4 38 76