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Golf
Notes October 23 The Senior PGA Tour didn't have 24 tournaments
until its fifth year in 1984. Arnold Palmer doesn't think it would hurt if the
schedule returned to about that size. "I think the senior tour has
to create a little more demand, and that demand could be established by reducing
the number of events," Palmer said Tuesday from his winter office at Bay
Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. There were 35 tournaments on the schedule
this year, although tour spokesman Bob Combs said the target for 2003 is in the
low 30s. Golf World magazine said the number of events could be even lower,
in the upper 20s. "When we started the senior tour, the thought was
18 events was probably enough," Palmer said. "As you know, it grew very
rapidly. The offer was there, and everybody accepted it. If a man plays good,
he can make a living on the senior tour in 20 or 25 events. And I think there
will be that many." Of greater concern to Palmer is television coverage. The
tape-delayed broadcasts on CNBC were a disaster. Next year, The Golf Channel will
televise all the early round coverage, while CNBC and The Golf Channel will divide
weekend coverage. Combs said all telecasts will be live. "The Golf
Channel would be a happy home for the senior tour," said Palmer, a co-founder
of the channel. "People who watch The Golf Channel are golfers." --- RETIREMENT
PARTY?:@ Five players in their 40s have won on the PGA Tour this year, and none
has mentioned retirement. Colin Montgomerie, a seven-time winner of the European
tour money list, has other ideas. Montgomerie, who turns 40 in June, told
the Sunday Times of London that he might quit the next time he wins one of Europe's
top tournaments. "Very few players get better in their 40s - very few,"
he said. "If I can stay in the top 15 in the world, or even get back into
the top 10, I'd be thrilled." such as the season-ending Volvo Masters
in Spain at the end of the month - would be the perfect way to end his career. Of
course, this is the same guy who threatened to pull out of the Ryder Cup unless
his back was fit enough to play five matches. Montgomerie went 4-0-1 at The Belfry
to lead Europe to victory. Just how big was that week? "I wouldn't
feel any better about myself if I had won a major," he said. --- TIGER'S
IMPACT:@ It's not just young people Tiger Woods is bringing to golf. Among
those who followed him for all four rounds in balmy conditions at the Disney World
Golf Classic was 71-year-old Marjorie Johnson. Mrs. Johnson was hard to
miss in her bright red sun dress, long-sleeved white shirt and a white bucket
hat. She described herself as "one of Tiger's biggest fans." "I've
never seen him play, but I got a brochure in the mail from Disney and said, 'By
gosh, I'm going to watch him!'" She didn't miss a shot. --- STRANGE
YEAR:@ Along with a record 16 first-time winners on the PGA Tour, players from
nine countries have won - just not the players everyone expected. Two players
from New Zealand have won on tour, but not 18th-ranked Michael Campbell (Craig
Perks, Phil Tataurangi). A Canadian won, but not Mike Weir (Ian Leggatt). The
only Aussie victory has come not from Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby or even rising
star Adam Scott - but from 36-year-old Craig Parry.
--- THE BIG WIESY:@
Suzy Whaley only has to say the word to get a tee time in the Greater Hartford
Open and become the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event. Michelle Wie
has a tougher road. The 13-year-old Hawaiian has been playing Pearl Country
Club every Friday after school in hopes of qualifying there in January for the
Sony Open. Wie tried to qualify when she was 10 and shot an 84. Playing
from the championship tees Oct. 12, the day after her 13th birthday, she shot
a 2-under 70. --- BABY COMES FIRST:@ Carin Koch is bracing for a long
layoff. The Swede is expecting her second child in April, and she doesn't
plan to play her first LPGA tournament until the U.S. Women's Open in July. She
tried to return in seven weeks after her son was born. "I want to get
out there as quick as I can for my fans and my sponsors, but with Oliver, he was
only seven weeks when I started playing. That was just a little too quick,"
Koch said. "There's no reason to rush it. Last time I learned at least that
physically it takes a while to get back and be coordinated again." --- TOAST
OF THE SILLY SEASON:@ PGA champion Rich Beem continues to reap the rewards of
winning a major. Along with getting overseas appearance money (Germany), he'll
be playing in three silly-season events - the PGA Grand Slam, the Hyundai Team
Matches (with Peter Lonard) and the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge. Also playing
the Team Matches will be Dottie Pepper, who hasn't played since her official-money
season ended in July with a shoulder injury. --- DIVOTS:@ One of the
best fields for an official tournament in the fall will take place after the PGA
Tour season. Defending champion David Duval, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia will
play in the Dunlop Phoenix on the Japanese tour Nov. 21-24. Also in the field
are Ryder Cup players Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. ... With two
tournaments left, there already are 59 players who have won at least $1 million
this year, up three from the record set last year. ... Hal Sutton's goal for the
offseason is to lose the weight he put on while battling sleep apnea. He already
has hired a dietitian. ... How bizarre has the silly season become? Greg Norman
wanted Charles Howell III as his partner for the Shark Shootout in Naples, Fla.,
but Howell already had committed to play in the Australian Open. ... Seiji Ebihara
of Japan and Denis Durnian of England have been added to the Rest of the World
team for the UBS Warburg Cup.
--- STAT OF THE WEEK:@ Despite winning
the B.C. Open, played opposite the British Open, Spike McRoy is 122nd on the PGA
Tour money list. His victory was worth $378,000 and earned him a two-year exemption. --- FINAL
WORD:@ "I'm a better person than I was three or four years ago. People tell
me that, anyway." - Colin Montgomerie.
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