Golf Notes January 16

Slow players on the PGA Tour better have some deep pockets.

The tour has made some significant changes to its pace-of-play policy for the 2002 season, most of that related to fines.

``We are becoming more aggressive this year,'' commissioner Tim Finchem said.

Players still get 40 seconds to play each shot when it is their turn. They get an extra 20 seconds when they are first to hit into a par 3, first to hit approach shots and first to play around or on the greens.

But the penalty structure is different.

A year ago, players were warned after their first and second infractions. On the third, they received a one-stroke penalty and a $4,000 fine. A fourth infraction brought an additional two-stroke penalty and a $2,000 fine. A fifth meant disqualification.

Now, they will get only one warning.

The second infraction costs $5,000, and a third gets a one-stroke penalty and a $10,000 fine. The fourth results in another $10,000 fine and disqualification.

Will it work?

``Maybe guys who are not as financially set might speed up,'' Bob May said. ``I don't know if it will bother the others until you start adding strokes.''

Players also get accumulative fines during the year, and those also are much steeper.

In 2001, they were fined $4,000 the third time they took too long, followed by a $2,000 fine for every infraction the rest of the season. This year, players will be fined $5,000 for their second infraction and $10,000 for every one the rest of the season.

Penalty strokes apply only for each round.

``When dollars are what they are today and the pressure is what it is today, it has an affect on ... a good number of players to slow them down,'' Finchem said. ``They tend to play in this environment slower. We just can't tolerate that.''

John Cook, a policy board member the past three years, thinks the changes will help. The key is enforcement.

``It's going to catch some people,'' he said. ``If a couple of us had our way, it would have been a shot on the second bad time.''

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Charles Howell III and Jesper Parnevik already wear the same clothing. Here's the scary part -- they're starting to think alike.

``Did we really land on the moon, or is that a fabrication?'' Howell asked after his second round at the Sony Open. ``Yeah, there's a flag up there, but the flag is pointing out and there's no wind to blow the flag. Think about that.''

Not surprisingly, Howell spent a lot of time with Parnevik on the range the day before, then had dinner with him that night.

Parnevik once tried to figure out that if someone wrapped a piece of string around the earth, how much more string would be required if it were placed 3 feet above ground. He did this while lining up a putt, and somehow three-putted for double bogey.

``Jesper also thinks that we're on the outer part of the Earth, and if you look at the sky, you're actually looking inward,'' Howell continued. ``So if you were to fly from the Earth into the sun, you'd actually be flying into the Earth. The rotation of the Earth keeps us suspended, hanging from the middle of it. See what I'm saying?''

Howell paused before leaving.

``I still don't think we landed on the moon.''

WHAT THEY'RE WRITING

One of the most popular golf attractions on the Internet finally found a home on the most unlikely Web site.

Robinson Holloway, who works for ABC Sports as an editorial adviser for golf tournaments, has a deal with PGA Tour.com to post ``What They're Writing,'' which features a daily collection of golf stories from newspapers and magazines around the world.

The tour's Web site is notorious for editing out material that is remotely critical, but appears to have had a change of heart.

``They assured me it would not be censored,'' Holloway said. ``They would prefer that some stories not get written, but they are. There's nothing so bad in golf. Even the Casey Martin trial -- it happened. The NFL has worse days than the PGA Tour ever does.''

The tour has a disclaimer at the bottom stating that opinions in the stories do not reflect the views of the PGA Tour.

Holloway said she was excited to be on one of golf's largest Web sites after nearly two years of obscurity.

``What They're Writing'' started two years ago on the now-defunct tourinsider.com, moved to its own Web site for three months, then was part of fringegolf.com for six months until it went out of business.

Holloway spends about four hours searching Web sites for golf stories, longer during major championships. She said even on the slowest day, she found 17 golf stories.

DIVOTS

U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson has left the University of Florida, although he says he plans to remain an amateur to play in the Masters and U.S. Open, and possibly the British Open. ... The Byron Nelson Classic raised its purse to $4.8 million, leaving it just short of a World Golf Championship event. ... John Daly has signed a deal with Acushnet in which he will promote its longest ball, the Pinnacle. Along with promoting the ball in print and television ads, Daly will have a long-drive contest against the winner of 10 regional events for recreational players. He will continue using the Pro V1 on the PGA Tour. ... Mar Garcia, the 18-year-old sister of Sergio Garcia, plans to play for the University of Arizona when the Wildcats resume their season next month. ... Robert Allenby made it through two weeks in Hawaii with his wife pregnant in Australia. Doctors plan to induce labor on Wednesday.

STAT OF THE WEEK

If 22-year-old Sergio Garcia finishes third in his next PGA Tour event, the Nissan Open, he will surpass Jack Nicklaus on the career money list.

FINAL WORD

``Pierre Fulke is very happy because he has another year to practice.'' -- Jesper Parnevik on the Ryder Cup being postponed one year. His fellow Swede has not had a top 10 since last February.

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