Golf Notes December 25

While European officials say they will wait until May before announcing the 2004 Ryder Cup captain, an intriguing debate already is shaping up over who will lead Europe at the 2006 matches in Ireland.

Nick Faldo or Colin Montgomerie?

They were together in London last week to announce a sponsorship deal, and both said they wanted to be captain at the K Club.

"I would like Ireland in 2006. I have mentioned that to the powers that be," Montgomerie told the Times of London. "I am very ambitious to win the Ryder Cup in Ireland."

He said his chances depend on whether Ian Woosnam or Bernhard Langer is selected for the '04 matches, and on Faldo. With that, he waved in the direction of Faldo.

The three-time Masters and British Open was standing about 10 feet away, and he was asked whether he was interested in being captain in '06.

"Absolutely, but it depends on him," Faldo said, gesturing toward Montgomerie. "Interesting, isn't it? Once there was a shortage of potential Ryder Cup captains. Now, we're queuing up to do it."

The relationship between Faldo and Montgomerie is respectful, but peculiar.

Three years ago at the Canadian Open, Faldo said he was surprised that Montgomerie never played full-time in America. "He likes to earn his fat checks each week, which is no harm in that, if you're motivated by that. A few are. Most of us go for tin claret jugs."

Those comments were the impetus for Ryder Cup captain Mark James trashing a good-luck note Faldo had written the European team.

Earlier this month, Montgomerie was asked if he had any regrets about not following Faldo and others to the PGA Tour.

"I have no regrets of doing anything Faldo has done, apart from the six majors," he said.

TIGER BREAK: If anyone can make a run at Tiger Woods' four-year reign of the PGA Tour money list, this might be a great opportunity.

Woods likely will miss the first five tournaments of the year as he recovers from knee surgery, and he got off to a moderate start the last two seasons, not winning until March.

Still, Davis Love III said only five or six players are capable of winning the money title, and it will take the right player winning the right tournaments.

"Tiger wins a World Golf Championship and a couple of majors, and all of a sudden there's not much of a chance to beat him," Love said. "If a guy comes out and wins the Match Play, Players (Championship) and Augusta, he's so far ahead that Tiger is way behind."

The chances of that happening are slim.

For one thing, Woods is the only player to have won The Players Championship and the Masters in the same year.

In each of the last four years, Woods essentially had the money title wrapped up with three months left in the season.

Love was asked if he knew who was going to win the money list in 2003.

"No," he said. "But we knew this year after April."

LPGA AWARDS: Patty Sheehan, Kim Williams and Gail Graham have been selected to receive some of the LPGA Tour's most prestigious awards.

Topping the list is Sheehan, the U.S. captain for the Solheim Cup and a member of the Hall of Fame who won the Patty Berg Award for outstanding contributions to golf.

Along with guiding the Americans to a 15 1/2-12 1/2 victory in the Solheim Cup, Sheehan carried the Olympic torch for the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and she won on the inaugural Women's Senior Golf Tour.

"This is one of the highest honors you can get in golf," Sheehan said. "It's really been a special year for me, especially for not having played on tour that much. Patty is such a special person and is the epitome of the LPGA and what the LPGA is all about."

Williams won the Heather Farr Award for returning to a high level of play after enduring various setbacks. She was struck by a stray bullet in 1994, had back surgery in 1998 and then was hit by another driver in a car crash in January 2001 after the first round of the season-opening event.

She sustained a broken left collarbone, a displaced sternum, torn cartilage in her ribs, a strained hip flexor and a deep cut on her right knee.

Williams played 22 times this year, and her best finish was a tie for sixth.

The award is named for Farr, who died following a 4 1/2-year battle with breast cancer.

"Heather was a friend of mine, but I could never match up to her grace and perseverance," Williams said. "This is an incredible honor."

Graham, outgoing president of the LPGA, won the William and Mousie Powell Award for behavior and deeds that exemplify the values of the LPGA.

Also, Jean Zedlitz and Amy Fruhwirth were joint winners of the Budget Service Award for their contributions to junior golf.

DIVOTS: Laura Davies failed to win on the LPGA Tour. She turns 40 next year, but still sets her goals high. "For me, a good year is four wins and a bad year is three wins," she said. "I usually reckon to win one tournament in about eight. If you can be winning better than one in 10, you're playing to a high standard, and that's what I've always done in the past." ... Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson was named "Newsmaker of the Year" by Golf World magazine. Tiger Woods came in second, followed by Annika Sorenstam and Martha Burk. ... The British Open is selling tickets through its Web site (www.randa.org) and has introduced a new policy for Royal St. George. Patrons will have their tickets punched at the gates, and once they leave the grounds, they will not be able to return with the same ticket. The system, first used at the Ryder Cup, is designed to increase security.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Nine of the 24 players from the Ryder Cup are not eligible for the Masters.

FINAL WORD: "Tiger is a fabulous player. But if there was only Tiger to beat, the game would have been far simpler. The problem is every time you go out to play, you have to beat 144 others." - Vijay Singh.

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