A day after complaining he had no business being there, Nicklaus beat old rival Tom Watson 2-and-1 in charity match play Tuesday at Dundarave Golf Course.

Nicklaus drained a 20-footer on the 17th hole to end the match to the roar of 4,200 spectators ringing the green.

They played out the final hole and Nicklaus finished with a four-under 68, including five birdies. Watson had a 70.

``Sixty-eight? I haven't had 68 in a dream for three years,'' said a pleased Nicklaus, who was playing only his 12th round of golf since retiring competitively 11 months ago. ``It was embarrassing in some ways to actually beat Tom because I don't deserve to beat him.

``I haven't worked at my golf game. ... I don't have a licence to beat him now.''

It may have only been for charity, with nothing but bragging rights on the line, but for a few hours Nicklaus and Watson _ winners of 26 majors between them _ made it seem like it was St. Andrews or Pebble Beach in the 1970s or '80s and not Prince Edward Island here and now.

There were a couple of bad shots, and the two never really got the measure of Dundarave's soft, rolling greens. But there were also many great ones that had the crowd oohing in appreciation.

Their drives exploded from their clubheads like rockets and almost always found safe havens of green between Dundarave's numerous and distinctive red-soil bunkers.

``They're unbelievable, especially their iron shots,'' marvelled Steve Coulson, who travelled from Brampton, Ont., to watch the golf legends play. ``It's in a different league.''

Nicklaus arrived on the Island spouting a litany of excuses that had some thinking he could end up embarrassing himself.

He said wear and tear on his spine has left him three inches shorter than he once was and unable to turn on the ball like he used to. He hadn't swung a club much in the past year and when he did, he assured everyone, it wasn't pretty.

Then he stepped up to the first tee and crushed his drive right down the middle, put his second shot three feet from the pin, and walked off the green with his first birdie.

``What did I say yesterday?'' asked Watson, 56, who warned reporters a day earlier not to buy what Nicklaus was selling.

``Crying like a baby. `I'm playing so badly and can't hit the ball at all. I shouldn't even be here,' and all that stuff. And look at him, a 68.''

``That's the way it goes,'' a bemused Nicklaus shot back. ``You shouldn't listen.''

Nicklaus, named golf's greatest player of the last century, shot an 80 in blustery winds during a pro-am the day before.

He said he wasn't expecting much different for match play until he went to the driving range to warm up.

``I hit the ball solidly,'' he conceded. ``If I'd been practising for two months, I wouldn't have played better than I did today.''

The two chatted amiably with each other and the fans as they walked _ and sometimes drove _ the tricky and distinctive 6,800-yard layout on the Island's eastern shore.

At one point, Nicklaus slumped in laughter after scuffing his putter a good three inches behind the ball on a decent chance at another birdie.

``It's still better than ours,'' yelled a spectator.

``Oh, you can do a lot better than that,'' replied Nicklaus.

``That little baby over there can do better than that,'' he said, gesturing to a crying child in the crowd.

One of the few miscues by either man occurred on the 16th when their tee shots both went long and struck two spectators, one of them in the jaw.

``Obviously a hockey player,'' quipped Watson after the man assured Nicklaus he was fine.

The two got noticeably quiet late in the round after Watson chipped away at a three-stroke Nicklaus lead to pull to within one with a few holes to play.

Suddenly, Nicklaus began studying the greens a little more intently and standing over his putts a lot longer.

``Obviously this means nothing _ except to Tom and me,'' Nicklaus said before teeing off on one hole.

``We're competitors.''