DUBLIN, Ohio -- Jack Nicklaus encountered a bit of trouble getting to the interview room Tuesday morning at Muirfield Village Golf Club for his annual press conference prior to the Memorial Tournament.

More to the point, he had trouble getting in. The door was locked.

"You stop playing and they forget all about you," the Golden Bear quipped.

Host of the tournament he founded 30 years ago and designer of the course that opened in 1974, Nicklaus this year is sitting on the sidelines, content, for the most part, to simply take in the proceedings as a spectator after retiring from competitive golf last July at the British Open at St. Andrews. His game is officially in hibernation.

True, he has not ruled out another appearance as a player in the future -- and the exemption criteria was recently changed to add to the field past Memorial champions not otherwise eligible. But for one year, at least, the show goes on without him as a lead actor.

Asked if it would feel strange not playing, Nicklaus, 66, couldn't help himself. He smiled and replied, "I haven't really played the last three or four years ... but I was here."

A two-time winner of his own event, in 1977 and '84, Nicklaus hasn't cluttered up the field like he might believe he has, making the cut in five of the last nine editions, including 2004 when he closed with a 1-under 71 and 295 total to end up tied for 63rd. He finished joint eighth as recently as 1997.

"I'm used to not playing," added Nicklaus, who, appropriately, was the last player to have started in every Memorial since its inception. "I thought about playing this year. I said, no, this is the year. I retired from tournament golf last year, (and) I reserve the right to be the (playing) host. I may come back next year or the year after and do that. I've left it open to do that if I want to but I needed to stay away this year.

"Have you seen me play lately? It won't feel weird at all. It will be a pleasure not to play. I played Saturday in our Memorial Club day. I played the back tees and cruised around here with a 77, just easy as can be."

The factors that would compel him to play in the future are the same as always. The Bear would have to feel like he could manage his game to a competitive degree. "I'd want to be representative at least a little bit to play and enjoy it and not come out here and shoot a pair of 85s and say, 'Gee, what a nice host.' I'd like to play decently and make the cut and be a part of what's going on, or I'm not going to do that."

Jack Nicklaus won the Memorial Tournament twice in his career. (Kee/WireImage)

Nicklaus, who capped off his farewell season in 2005 by captaining the United States to victory in the Presidents Cup, the first win for American professional golfers in a team competition in five years, admits he isn't missing golf all that much. He misses being a competitive golfer, but he's finding other outlets for his seemingly boundless energy.

"I'm enjoying my work. I'm absolutely loving what I do," he said. "I'm traveling twice as much as I ever traveled, going to places I never would have gone to before, doing things that don't require me to watch what I do ... because I've got a tournament coming up, make sure I'm building myself for golf. I've done that for 40 or 50 years, whatever it was, and I'm enjoying not doing it."

That will continue throughout this week, too. He'll be busy enough, but aside from his participation in Wednesday's pro-am, he won't be running around as furiously as past years.

"I'm not doing much (extra). I'm doing the same things but before I just squeezed in some golf, too," he said. "I started here at 11 this morning (with the press conference). I didn't do that in previous years. Actually, I get to sleep this week."

So the hibernation is truly official. But that doesn't mean it's permanent.