Golf Notes April 25

Television ratings and higher purses are not the only areas where Tiger Woods has made a discernible impact on golf. His success in the biggest tournaments has created seven additional spots for players trying to qualify for the U.S. Open.

The U.S. Golf Association awards exemptions to U.S. Open champions of the past 10 years, winners of the other majors the past five years and the current holder of The Players Championship.

Woods has won The Masters and PGA Championship twice each and the U.S. Open and British Open once apiece since 1996, and he won the Players in March. That's seven extra spots that will be available during the final round of qualifying to complete the 156-player field.

Woods qualifies in 11 of the 17 categories, the most in U.S. Open history. The only categories that do not apply to him are U.S. Amateur champion; Senior Open winner; top 15 from the European tour's money list; top two from the Australasian tour and Japanese tour money lists; and top two from the European tour money list through May 28.

Meanwhile, the top two from the Australasian tour money list -- Aaron Baddeley and Peter Lonard -- still have to qualify because of a provision that they be ranked at least 75th in the Official World Golf Ranking when the season ended.

On the Japanese tour, both Shingo Katayama and Toru Taniguchi were in the top 75 when that season ended and will be exempt from qualifying.

A TRIBUTE TO WINNIE

Several years ago, the late Winnie Palmer protested plans to commercially develop a 26-acre tract near Latrobe, Pa., that offered a sweeping vista of the basilica and campus of St. Vincent College.

"She rued the day that might happen,'' longtime Palmer spokesman Doc Giffin said.

That's won't be a problem. Arnold Palmer bought the land two months ago, and last week Gov. Tom Ridge announced a $500,000 grant to help develop the land into the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve.

"Winnie would be very pleased about this and with what we intend to create on this land,'' said Palmer, who plans to raise $6 million for the project.

Mrs. Palmer died of cancer in November 1999.

The land was crossed by the British army during the Revolutionary War, and a historic blockhouse still sits among the trees and brush beside the Monastery Run creek. The reserve will be used for hiking and recreation, and by St. Vincent for conservation and environmental education.

The grant was part of $30 million in aid for the "Growing Greener'' program, the largest ever in Pennsylvania for environmental work.

"This grant will help make not only Winnie's dream come true, but also the dreams of the young people and families who will have a natural park to call their own,'' Palmer said.

PRESIDENTIAL TOUR

During a business trip to South Africa last week, Jack Nicklaus got a sneak preview of The Links Course at the Fancourt Hotel, where he will captain the American team in next year's Presidents Cup.

He liked what he saw. He just wasn't sure where he was.

"You have the feel that you're either in Ireland or Scotland, but you're in South Africa,'' Nicklaus said. "I've seen a lot of people attempt to capture the Scottish look outside Scotland, but never have I see it done better than it is done here at Fancourt.''

That's a compliment to Gary Player, who designed the course and will oppose Nicklaus as captain of the International team.

TIGER FOR GOLD?

The World Amateur Golf Council, recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the official federation for golf, has submitted a bid for gold as part of the 2008 Olympics.

If approved, the event would be open to all professionals, meaning Tiger Woods could compete for a gold medal at age 32.

Woods said last year golf already has the four majors and doesn't need the Olympics, although the bid has been supported by players such as Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros.

Golf in the Olympics also would mean drug testing, but Royal & Ancient secretary Peter Dawson said today he does not see that as a problem and has no plans to implement a random test during the British Open this year.

GOLF'S YOGI

Fred Couples might be the closest thing the PGA Tour has to a Yogi Berra. After a 68 in the first round of the Shell Houston Open, Couples was asked if he was determined to get his game back to where it was.

"Where it was is the ultimate goal,'' he said. "And if you've never been there, you don't know where it is.''

McCORMACK HONORED

Mark McCormack, whose handshake in 1960 with Arnold Palmer was the first step toward a massive sports agency, is this year's recipient of the PGA Distinguished Service Award.

McCormack, founder and chairman of IMG, will be honored on the eve of the PGA Championship in Atlanta.

IMG now operates 83 offices in 32 countries and includes some of the biggest stars in sports, from Tiger Woods and David Duval to Venus and Serena Williams, and even organizations like the U.S. Olympic Committee and the NCAA.

He also created the world ranking system, which is used to determine eligibility in the four major championships and The Players Championship.

"Mark McCormack revolutionized the sports world by his keen business sense and foresight, and in doing so impacted PGA professionals as well as athletes in many sports,'' PGA president Jack Connelly said.

DIVOTS

The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association will honor Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player with its Golden Anniversary Award, given to the players who had the greatest influence on golf in the past half-century. They will receive the award June 19 at the group's 50th National Awards Dinner. ... Patty Berg, an LPGA founder and Hall of Fame member, will be the honorary chairman of the 2002 Solheim Cup, which will be played in her native Minnesota. ... James Driscoll, the U.S. Amateur runner-up who delayed turning pro so he could play in the Masters, will compete in the St. Andrews Links Trophy May 26-27.

STAT OF THE WEEK

For all the talk about a foreign invasion on the PGA Tour, 33 of the top 40 players on the money list are Americans.

FINAL WORD

"It's not easy when you see somebody you know, and you're standing over a putt and you're trying to think of this person's name.'' - Fred Couples, on playing in front of a hometown crowd.

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