Augusta, Ga. -- Now on the tee, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Nice ring to it, yes? Thursday morning, for the first time, Nicklaus will join Palmer as honorary starters for the Masters. It was a logical role for Palmer to embrace, given his deep connection with the galleries, and a difficult role for Nicklaus to accept, given his relentlessly competitive nature. Now, at age 70, Nicklaus will give it a whirl after Palmer, 80, asked him. 'We'll have fun and we'll both belt it out there about 150,' Nicklaus said. ' ... I don't have to go chase the ball, so it doesn't make any difference where I hit it.' Nicklaus won six of his 18 major titles at Augusta National. He said Tuesday he fully expects Tiger Woods, at 14 and holding, to eventually eclipse the record, personal travails and all. 'I would say the chances are pretty darned good,' Nicklaus said. 'Matter of fact, I think if he doesn't, I'll still be very surprised.' QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I would be a hopeless wreck, but that's my nature.' --Padraig Harrington, asked what he would be like if he were returning to golf after five months away from the game, a la Woods FLOYD RETIRES: Raymond Floyd, who won the 1976 Masters and had made 45 consecutive starts in the tournament, announced he will no longer play. 'I'm 67 years old and I wanted to leave with really fond memories of the golf course and the way I've played it all these years,' Floyd said. 'I didn't want to go out and embarrass myself.' BRIEFLY: The USGA is expected to decide soon whether to grant a special exemption to Tom Watson for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June. ... Tuesday was unseasonably warm in Augusta (89 degrees), but it's expected to cool off by Thursday's opening round -- with a high of 78 degrees and 60 percent chance of rain in the late afternoon and early evening. 