LPGA Tour deputy commissioner
Jim Webb is among those waiting to see how the Royal and Ancient will respond
to Callaway Golf's new ERC and 11 other "hot" drivers that have been banned by
the USGA.
The USGA says the thin-faced
drivers have exceeded the limits on its new spring-like effect test. The R&A
has no such test -- and no such ban.
That means the drivers
are legal where the R&A governs, which is three countries where the LPGA Tour
has official events -- the Australian Ladies Masters, the Evian Masters in France,
and the Mizuno Classic in Japan.
"If a player uses it over
here, she would be in violation of USGA rules," Webb said. "But since we play
under the R&A rules in joint sanction with another tour, we abide by those rules.
I wish they would both agree so we wouldn't be in that situation."
Webb said he wasn't aware
of any player using the drivers deemed non-conforming by the USGA during the
Australian Masters in February, or of anyone planning to use one in France next
month.
The R&A has said it hopes
to have an opinion on the drivers by the British Open at St. Andrews in July.
In men's golf, Michael
Campbell has used the ERC in Australia, and three others have used it in Japan.
The big jolt could come
from Colin Montgomerie, the No. 3 player in the world who has been looking only
for the right shaft before he puts the ERC into play.
"I think the ERC Driver
is fabulous and I hope to be playing with it in competition soon," Montgomerie
said. He is expected to play in the Spanish Open starting Thursday.
THE EYES
HAVE IT
The pollen in the air at
Augusta National finally drove Jesper Parnevik to become the latest player to
have Lasik eye surgery.
The Swede had the process
done April 17 and was thrilled with the results during the Greater Greensboro
Chrysler Classic, where he registered his seventh top-10 finish of the year.
"It was a very spur-of-the-moment
decision, but I had enough with my contacts," Parnevik said. "And I'm very, very
glad I did it now. I'm just amazed."
STROKE SAVERS
Corey Pavin and Meg Mallon
will try to match birdies in the month of May to raise money and awareness in
the annual American Stroke Challenge.
Bayer Aspirin will donate
$1,500 to the American Stroke Association for every birdie they make on the PGA
Tour and LPGA Tour. The program has raised over $740,000 the past six years,
and organizers hope to go over the $1 million mark this year.
"Corey had better practice,"
Mallon said.
Pavin and Mallon each have
a history of heart ailments in their families.
This year's program also
includes a $1 million hole-in-one contest. People can register at one of 100
public courses in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York,
Phoenix, Seattle and Tampa.
One person from each city
will be chosen to compete against Pavin in the hole-in-one contest June 19 in
Los Angeles. An ace is worth $1 million, with Bayer donating $1 million to the
American Stroke Association.
The golf course which has
the most entries will receive a golf clinic conducted by Mallon.
DON'T CALL
JUSTIN
Justin Leonard has been
relatively vocal the past couple of years when it comes to cell phones. At the
Doral-Ryder Open last year, he heard eight cell phones in a span of four holes,
and when one went off in his backswing, "I went off on him."
No surprise, then, that
one of the more bizarre incidents with cell phones during the Greater Greensboro
Chrysler Classic involved Leonard.
Noticing a fan outside
the ropes with cell phone to the ear, Leonard walked over to him, grabbed his
ticket and began reading the back of it.
"Cellular phones, cameras,
coolers, pets and signs are prohibited," Leonard read.
After the second round,
he stormed off complaining about cameras and cell phones.
"The frequency was the
worst I've experienced during a single round," he said.
SOLHEIM
COUNTDOWN
This should sound familiar
in match play competition -- Europeans complaining that Americans have crossed
the line in their celebrations.
Two years ago in the Solheim
Cup, some European players angry over the antics of the fiery Dottie Pepper put
her picture on a punching bag and took aim on the eve of the Sunday singles matches.
The Americans won for the
fourth time, but will go over to Scotland in October. Now that "Spring Break"
is over on the LPGA Tour, the race to make the Solheim Cup should start coming
into focus each week.
Pepper, by the way, has
played in every Solheim Cup since it began in 1990 and is virtually a lock to
make her sixth team. Is U.S. captain Pat Bradley keeping her fingers crossed
that Pepper will keep it down on foreign soil?
"Not at all," Bradley said.
"Dottie bleeds red, white and blue. She's a student of match play. Dottie knows
what she can do and what she can't do. Her spontaneous enthusiasm and competitive
fire is what every team would like to have. I'm just very happy she's on my team."
DIVOTS
Louisiana lawyer Michael
Veron is striking it big with his first novel, "The Greatest Player Who Never
Lived." Sleeping Bear Press is negotiating the movie rights. ... Ticketmaster
will start providing offline and online ticketing services for all PGA Tour,
Senior Tour, and Buy.com Tour events. It's the first time the tour has entered
into a national exclusive ticketing agreement. ... Former U.S. Amateur champion
Hank Kuehne will make his first PGA Tour start of the year in Houston. He previously
has played two Buy.com Tour events this year and missed the cut in both. ...
Jack Nicklaus is scheduled to play the Compaq Classic in New Orleans next week
with son Gary. ... The U.S. Open will launch its web site on Wednesday -- www.usopen.com
STAT OF
THE WEEK
Pebble Beach, the Buick
Invitational at Torrey Pines, the Canadian Open, and the Buick Challenge at Callaway
Gardens are the only PGA Tour events whose list of champions do not include a
Nike Tour graduate.
FINAL WORD
"No. Nor would I ground
my club in a bunker or nudge my ball into a better lie." -- David Fay, executive
director of the USGA, when asked whether he would use the Callaway ERC driver
in a casual round of golf.
