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By
Don O'Keefe GOLFViews
Writer
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It's March, and
the 50 and even 60 degree temperatures
that provided one of our better winter
golf seasons, have been replaced with
frequent snow showers and freezing
temperatures. I'm not complaining, in fact
I'm hoping for more snow and rain over the
next couple months to assure enough
moisture to help improve golf course
conditions. Many of the front range
courses benefited from the extended winter
golf season with additional revenue to
close out 2002, and an early boost to
2003. The downside is that the winter play
took a heavy toll on some courses, and the
superintendents are going to have a
difficult time getting them back in shape.
Divots and cart wear in the winter months
are not easily corrected, but some good
weather and rain will help. Some of those
divots may be around for
awhile.
•••••••••••••••
I remember when
Charles Howell III became a member of the
PGA. At an early interview, he identified
Tiger Woods as his target for measuring
his success on the Tour. He has been
successful, with enough winnings to rank
15th on the money list, and was voted 2002
Rookie Of The Year. However, I thought it
was interesting at the recent Nissan Open,
when he went into the last round, with the
lead and wearing a red shirt, Tiger's
choice in similar circumstances. The
thought struck me, this guy is not going
to be happy until he is ranked #1.
Unfortunately, the red shirt and the lead
on the last day is where the similarity
ended. Howell began the day with a 3 shot
lead over his closest competition. I
believe that when Tiger has been tied or
leading on the last day he has won 27 of
his 29 opportunities. Mike Weir, who began
the last round 7 strokes behind Howell,
shot a brilliant 66 while Howell shot a 2
over 73, tieing them for first place. Weir
won the tournament on the second playoff
hole.
Make no mistake,
Howell is one of the brightest new, young
stars on the PGA Tour. But on the back
nine especially, his course management and
putting exposed his inexperience, and it
carried over to the playoff holes. A
couple of great recovery shots after
mistakes on the back nine was all that
kept him from slipping to 3rd or 4th
place. As it was, Rich Beem's 74 was the
only higher round of the top ten
finishers. Tiger Woods poor play the first
3 rounds left him too far back to compete.
Too bad, because his closing 65 was the
lowest round of the day, and left him in a
tie for 5th place. It's going to take more
than a red shirt before Howell is ready to
tangle with Tiger!
•••••••••••••••
The PGA announced
some key name, sponsor and qualifying
changes for the 2003 season. What was
formerly called the Senior PGA Tour has
been renamed the Champions Tour. I like
the name and I believe it provides an
upgrade in recognition value, and most of
the players have been past Champions on
the PGA Tour. I still believe they need to
change the age requirement from 50 years
old to 45 or at least 47. Let's face it,
many of the older players on the PGA Tour
are having an increasingly difficult time
making cuts and keeping their cards. The
annual influx of new, young players has
raised the bar on performance for several
years. They are younger, stronger and
better trained than new players in the
recent past., and more of them will be
allowed to qualify from the former Buy.Com
and Hooters Tour beginning this year. An
earlier age window for the Champions Tour
solves several problems. In providing the
older players the opportunity to compete
sooner on the new Champions Tour, it will
raise the skill level and viewers
interest, it should provide a better
opportunity to improve their earnings, and
it should reduce the number of older
players that now play on the former
Buy.Com Tour when they lose their PGA
exemption, freeing up more openings for
young future stars on the PGA Tour.
Players that move to Champions Tour should
still have the opportunity to participate
in any PGA Tour event if they have an
exemption. Where is the
downside?
The former Buy.Com
Tour has a new sponsor and a new name.
Nationwide, which provides insurance and
financial services, has signed on for the
next five years. The number of tournaments
has increased to 30, the total purse value
has been raised to $14.5 million, and the
number of exemptions to the PGA Tour has
been increased to the top 20 money
winners, instead of the top 15. I believe
that any player that wins 3 events during
the year will also have an automatic
exemption to the PGA Tour, as in the
past.
•••••••••••••••
I don't understand
Annika Sorenstam's desire to play a PGA
Tour event, or the lack of much comment
from the LPGA on the potential event. I
believe it's a "lose, lose" situation for
both parties. Let's say she makes the cut,
which I believe is somewhat doubtful.
Certainly she isn't going to win, and may
finish well back in the pack. Her
performance could be a personal
embarrassment , a diminished view of the
LPGA, and a diminished view of her past
performance over the past two years,
against the best women golfers in the
world. If she doesn't even make the cut,
it is the worst publicity possible for the
LPGA, that already suffers in recognition
value with other pro golf venues. I would
hate to see Sorenstam's capabilities and
accomplishments diminished in any way, and
especially in an event that means
nothing.
•••••••••••••••
CORRECTION: In the
winter issue I reported on the RE-MAX Long
Drive finals held in Mesquite, Nevada. In
the article the width of the landing area
was reported to be 150 yards, when it was
intended to be 150 feet (50 yards).
However, even that is wrong, as I now
understand that it is exactly 48 1/2
yards. Also, John Daly's competition in a
separate long drive competition was
against 10 qualifying amateurs, not the
long drive pros.
I received several
e-mails and letters, taking exception to
my blunders. I have taken steps to obtain
the correct rules and information on the
RE-MAX Long Drive events , and will be
reporting on them in future
columns.
I appreciate any and
all responses to my columns, and try to
respond to them.
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