Golf Notes June 6

A mixed-team match involving Tiger Woods, David Duval, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb is lacking only the official announcement, a snappy nickname and a method to determine who gets Tiger as a teammate.

``I think they're just going to flip a coin,'' Webb said.

The prime-time exhibition will be played July 30 at Bighorn Golf Club in the California desert, where Sergio Garcia defeated Woods under the lights last summer.

The date works well for the men — Woods will be off that week, while Duval likely will play The International in Colorado. But it proved to be one of the final hurdles for the women, since their British Open starts Aug. 2 in England.

As for a format, organizers are leaning toward alternate shot instead of best ball, with one possible wrinkle that could lead to male and female partners hitting drives from the same tees (leaving their partners to face the difference in length with the approach shot).

The distribution of prize money has not been determined, but it figures to be a motivating factor for the woman. While Sorenstam and Webb have among the most lucrative endorsement deals on the LPGA Tour, a $1.1 million payday — Garcia's take last year — is unheard of in women's golf.

The other issue is the rights fee for the PGA Tour to televise the event.

That was a sticking point with Woods when he openly criticized the tour and commissioner Tim Finchem last year on marketing rights and other issues. He and Finchem met in December and reached several compromises.

``Based on that meeting, I think it (the rights fee) will be fair,'' said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG.

He declined to say whether ``fair'' meant a little more or a lot less.

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NEXT QUESTION: Heather Daly-Donofrio was this year's version of Justin Leonard at a U.S. Open championship.

She was a killjoy, no matter what she said or how right she was.

The former Yale coach was unwittingly grouped with 13-year-old Morgan Pressel for the first two rounds of the Women's Open. She spoke highly of the teen's competitive spirit and how well she handled the spotlight.

By the end of the second round, however, Daly-Donofrio was exasperated by what she said was poor etiquette. She said that on a half-dozen occasions, Pressel walked on top of the cup to retrieve her ball, and twice stood behind the cup in Daly-Donofrio's line.

She said she tried to explain it to Pressel, but it was fruitless. On the last hole, Daly-Donofrio had to wave to get the kid to move from her line of sight.

``I don't want to say anything negative so I don't want to answer your question,'' she said after her round.

She later talked to Pressel's grandfather, Herb Krickstein.

Leonard was in the same group as Matt Kuchar for the first two rounds of the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, which meant putting up with the antics of father-caddie Peter Kuchar. He finally lost his patience when Kuchar's father continued whipping the gallery into a frenzy as Leonard was lining up a 10-foot birdie putt.

He backed off the putt and glared at Mr. Kuchar.

Asked about it later, Leonard said ``Next question.'' He then looked at the reporter and said, ``It does me no good to answer that question, do you understand?''

Daly-Donofrio sure does.

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SHRINE MEMENTO: The World Golf Hall of Fame has a lunch box that Sam Snead used to take to school, and a model of the plane that Arnold Palmer flew around the world.

What will it get from Greg Norman?

``I figured I'd put in a plane, a yacht, a helicopter ... what else do you need in there,'' said Norman, who will be inducted Nov. 11.

A stickler for details when it comes to running his various businesses, getting into the Hall of Fame is no different. He started discussing it with his Great White Shark Enterprises staff as soon as he got word he had been elected.

``I know fall is a long way off, but preparation is preparation,'' Norman said.

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TIGER'S WEB SITE: For those who can't get enough of the world's best player, he now is only a click away.

Tigerwoods.com, his official Web site, was relaunched last week.

It includes a link to pgatour.com for live scoring of tournaments in which Woods plays and his position in relation to the field. Plans call for shot-by-shot statistics from Shotlink and broadcasts of live events, such as his junior clinics.

In conjunction with the PGA Tour, the Web site will feature video highlights posted after each of his rounds. It also has an online store that will link to e-stores of the brands he endorses, such as Nike.

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LOVE HURTS: Davis Love III was arguably the hottest player in golf during the West Coast Swing, when he won Pebble Beach and played in the final Sunday the next three tournaments. Now, he'd be happy just to play.

Love hasn't been able to play since Hilton Head the week after the Masters because of a neck injury. He has inflammation between two discs, although he said he won't require surgery.

Love reported no pain or problems last week, and plans to make the U.S. Open his first tournament in two months.

``I'm on the David Duval theory that I'll be ready to go,'' Love told Golf World magazine, alluding to Duval missing a month before nearly winning the Masters. ``I'm excited about playing, and at this stage in my career it's nice to feel like a kid again.''

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DIVOTS: Greg Norman said the reason he had to skip U.S. Open qualifying was because of a vacation planned two years ago to celebrate his daughter's graduation from high school. ... Americans won 38 of the first 41 U.S. Women's Open, but only seven of the last 15. ... Karrie Webb's parents plan to come to the LPGA Championship, where she will have a chance to become only the fifth woman to complete the Grand Slam. Her mother was in Canada when Webb won her first major, the 1999 du Maurier Classic.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Half of Tiger Woods' 28 PGA Tour victories have come in three states — Ohio (5), Florida (5) and California (4).

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FINAL WORD: ``Yes, I have. I just don't know which one.'' Kelly Robbins, asked whether she has played with twins Naree or Aree Wonglukiet.

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