Despite pulling out of the Lancome Trophy in Paris, Tiger Woods still has plans
for an international schedule at the end of the PGA Tour season.
Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said Woods is scheduled to play a two-day
exhibition Nov. 10-11 in Hong Kong before going to the World Cup in Japan, where
he and David Duval are the defending champions.
Then, it's off to Hawaii and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for major championship
winners, followed by the Skins Game in a field that now includes Colin Montgomerie,
Greg Norman and Jesper Parnevik. His final event of 2001 will be his Williams
World Challenge.
Steinberg said Woods still plans to play the New Zealand Open in January.
As for Woods' immediate plans, there is a slight chance he will add the Las
Vegas Invitational in two weeks. After that is the National Car Rental Classic
at Disney and the season-ending Tour Championship in Houston.
PINE VALLEY
Mark down Oct. 15 as a chance to fulfill a golfing dream and help some of the
victims of the World Trade Center attacks.
Pine Valley Golf Club, perennially ranked as the greatest course in America,
will allow 100 nonmembers to play for $1,000 each. The club will provide lunch
and golf, with all of the green fees going to the Twin Towers Fund, which aids
the families of uniformed officers killed or injured in the Sept. 11 attacks.
``We wanted to help out, and this was the best way we could,'' said Charley
Raudenbush, head professional at Pine Valley.
The spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the
club (856-309-3206). Players will be required to pay caddies $60 per bag.
PRESIDENTIAL PRICE
Moving the Presidents Cup back one year to accommodate the postponed Ryder
Cup might seem like only a matter of logistics. But it also could affect the makeup
of the International team.
``I'm going to be 46 when that Presidents Cup rolls around,'' Nick Price said.
``I was hoping to make that team, which was one of my final goals on the tour.
I wanted to play in South Africa.''
Price is No. 29 in the world ranking, which puts him eighth in the Presidents
Cup standings. Staying there isn't going to be any easier the next two years.
Price is cutting back slightly on his schedule, and Japanese and South American
players are starting to emerge, along with youngsters like Adam Scott.
Greg Norman, meanwhile, will be 48 when the next Presidents Cup is played in
2003 and already has fallen to No. 90 in the world ranking. The next time he makes
an appearance in the matches could be as a captain.
TRAVEL TALES
It was one big road trip on the PGA Tour as players drove home from canceled
tournaments in Tampa Bay and St. Louis.
The longest drive award might go to Willie Wood, whose flight to Florida got
as far as New Orleans. He drove the rest of the way to Tampa, the tournament was
canceled and he drove home to Oklahoma, a total of about 1,800 miles.
Then there was John Daly, who was playing an exhibition in Minnesota. Daly
bought a Chevrolet Avalanche truck and drove home to Arkansas.
``I'm used to drives like that,'' Daly said. ``No big deal.''
Jim Furyk and his wife drove from St. Louis to their home in Ponte Vedra Beach,
Fla., a 975-mile trip that took ``exactly 12 hours and 15 minutes, but that's
not counting stops.''
The good time was attributed to Tabitha Furyk.
``She can get there a lot faster than me,'' he said. ``I drove about eight
hours, but she made up for more than her share. I fell asleep and asked if we
were through Macon (Ga.) and she said we were through Valdosta.''
Such expediency nearly cost Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange, who drove from
Colorado to his home in Virginia.
``The state trooper who pulled me over in West Virginia was extremely nice,''
Strange said. ``He's got 12 of the nicest Pro V1's in the mail to him right now.''
DOWN-UNDER WONDERS
Robert Allenby had first dibs on representing Australia in the World Cup, but
turned it down last week because the Australian PGA is the same week and he is
the defending champion.
That paves the way for a couple of youngsters from Down Under -- 21-year-old
Adam Scott and 20-year-old Aaron Baddeley.
``They're definitely not old enough to shave, those two,'' Allenby said. ``It
will be good. I think they will bring a lot of character to the tournament because
they're so young. Two good golfers.''
A SAD, STRANGE CAPTAINCY
Curtis Strange's tenure as captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team has been marked
by tragedy.
He was announced as captain Oct. 25, 1999, just before word that Payne Stewart's
private plane was flying uncontrolled across the country and later crashed in
a field in South Dakota.
Then, the matches were postponed because of the terrorist attack on America.
``It's been up and down the scale,'' Strange said. ``The first day was an emotional
day -- one of the most exciting days of my life, and then in matter of seconds
it was a terrible disaster. And now this.
``The Ryder Cup captaincy is supposed to be a wonderful experience, and it
has been a wonderful experience, with a lot of dark moments in there.''
DIVOTS
It wasn't an easy decision for David Toms to play in the Texas Open. He had
an offer from the athletic director at LSU to fly to Knoxville for the LSU-Tennessee
game Saturday. ``It's at night, so I can watch it on TV,'' Toms said. ... David
Duval will be playing the Dunlop Phoenix on the Japanese tour the week before
the World Cup. He declined an invitation to play in the Skins Game. ... LPGA Tour
commissioner Ty Votaw thinks the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup being played in consecutive
weeks next September could be a boost to women's golf. He said the LPGA will wait
until after the matches to decide whether future Solheim Cup matches should remain
in even-numbered years with the Ryder Cup.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Rocco Mediate played the Phoenix Open and Pennsylvania Classic in a combined
37-under par and finished second both times -- by a combined 11 strokes.
FINAL WORD
``My problem is, I can't resist the temptation.'' -- Arnold Palmer, who said
he would try not to swing so hard because of an ailing back.
