EVEN by Jack Nicklaus' standards it was a busy 11 days. During that time, golf's Golden Bear visited eight countries in a typically whirlwind, stamina-sapping Asian tour.
As well as attending innumerable lunch and dinner functions, Nicklaus conducted dozens of interviews and signed new deals for the construction of golf courses and golfing academies bearing his name.
He had an audience with Brunei's Prince Abdul Hakeem, for whom he is designing an oceanside layout, and spent time with the developers of a resort-driven complex in Kota Kinabalu.
He went scuba diving in Sabah and endured a dramatic flight from Manila to Kuala Lumpur on his private Gulfstream G2B jet.
At more than 40,000 feet in the air, a heating element in one of the windows caught fire. The window cracked and the plane descended rapidly to 20,000 feet. Several members of the entourage turned white with fear. Not Nicklaus.
''Jack remained calmed through it all,'' said Mark Hesemann, vice-president of Golden Bear International and one of Nicklaus' closest associates.