Best Man Wins

Shortly after the Pope had apologized to the Jewish People for the
treatment of Jews by the Catholic Church over the years, Ariel Sharon,
Prime Minister of Israel, sent a proposal to the College of Cardinals
for a friendly game of golf to be played between the two leaders or
their representatives to demonstrate the friendship and ecumenical
spirit shared by the Catholics and the Jews.



The Pope then met with his College of Cardinals to discuss the proposal.
"Your Holiness," said one of the Cardinals, "Mr. Sharon wants to
challenge you to a game of golf to show that you are old and unable to
compete. I am afraid that this would tarnish our image in the world."

The Pope thought about this and since he had never held a golf club in
his life asked "Don't we have a Cardinal to represent me?"

"None who plays golf very well," a Cardinal replied."But," he
added, "there is a man named Jack Nicklaus, an American golfer, who is
a devout Catholic. We can offer to make him a Cardinal, and then ask
him to play Mr. Sharon as your personal representative. In addition to
showing our spirit of cooperation, we will also win the match."

Everyone agreed that this was a great idea. The call was made. Of
course, Nicklaus was honoured and he agreed to play as a representative
of the Pope.

The day after the match, Nicklaus reported to the Vatican to inform the
Pope of the result. "This is Cardinal Nicklaus. I have some good news
and some bad news, Holiness," said the golfer.

"Tell me the good news, Cardinal Nicklaus," said the Pope.

"Well, Your Holiness, I don't like to brag, but even though I have
played some pretty terrific rounds of golf in my life, this is the best
I have ever played, by far. I must have been inspired from above. My
drives were long and true, my irons were accurate and purposeful, and
my putting was perfect. With all due respect, my play was truly miraculous.

"How then can there be bad news?"

Nicklaus sighed "I lost by three strokes to Rabbi Tiger Woods.