Nobilo can jumpstart miserable year

Nobody stands to gain as much this week as Frank Nobilo.

The NEC Invitational, for Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players, is the only $5 million World Golf Championship event that doesn't involve world rankings or money lists.

That explains why Nobilo is at Firestone Country Club.

He is 157th on the money list and has only one finish in the top 20 this year. In fact, his last win of any kind was the Mexican Open in 1997.

But Nobilo was a captain's pick for the Presidents Cup, which gives him a chance to win anywhere between $27,000 and $1 million this week.

"I'm not exactly at the top of the money list," Nobilo said. “Obviously, the prize money is big, but if my goals were primarily that, I might as well give up the game. My priority is to swing better and to play better.

"Every week we get an opportunity to play for a lot of money, more than we deserve," he said. "The only difference this week is you chop the field in half and you have a bottom purse.”

Nobilo, hampered by numerous injuries the past few years, needs to finish in the top 125 on the money list to keep full PGA Tour privileges next year.

He could get there by finishing 18th or better.

Of course, if he wins he could move from 157th to as high as 16th.

Mighty Casey

The PGA Tour may not have seen the last of Casey Martin.

With two runner-up finishes and a tie for sixth over the past two months, Martin has quietly moved up to No. 14 on the Nike Tour money list. The top 15 are exempt on the PGA Tour.

Whether he can make it will depend on the final five weeks of the season. Martin, who suffers a rare circulatory disease in his right leg, has decided to take off at least three straight tournaments to rest his leg.

"It's been up and down like it's been in the past, but I'm in more pain this year than last, and I'm not sure why," Martin told Golfweek magazine.

The homestretch on the Nike Tour is out west, which should reduce travel time from Martin's home in Oregon. And Martin has shown he can rise to the occasion, such as when he qualified for the U.S. Open in 1998 and then tied for 23rd.

Martin successfully sued the PGA Tour for a right to use a cart, and became the first player to ride one in the Nike Tour, U.S. Open and, later, on the PGA Tour.

Should he get his card, the timing could be another blow to the tour in what already has been a public relations nightmare.

A ruling on the appeal could come down at the end of the year, about the time Martin might be among the Nike graduates getting his "Welcome to the PGA Tour" speech.

Johnny Prophet

In Golf World magazine's 1999 preview issue published Jan. 15, Johnny Miller offered his predictions on the major tournaments of the year. Here's what he had to say about the U.S. Amateur:

"David Gossett. You heard it here first. Gossett is a freshman at the University of Texas. I saw him play at a college tournament last fall and couldn't believe how good he is. He's a former AJGA superstar and has won several college events. He is only about Tom Watson's size, but he hits it a mile and has the look of a champion."

Gossett's 9 and 8 victory over Sung Yoon Kim at Pebble Beach was the largest margin since Hal Sutton beat Bob Lewis by the same score in 1980 at Pinehurst.

In fairness, Miller also picked Tiger Woods to win the Masters (T18), Ernie Els in the U.S. Open (missed cut), Greg Norman in the British Open (6th) and Steve Elkington in the PGA Championship (he withdrew to be with ailing caddie Joe Grillo).

Divots

• The divot under the tree, where Sergio Garcia hit “The Shot,'' grew by about a foot the day after the PGA Championship. It seems everyone who played Medinah Monday got to No. 16 and wanted to give it a try.
• In honor of the King's 70th birthday, the Arnold Palmer Golf Co. is introducing a limited edition of 1,000 sets of Palmer original irons. The irons are replicas of the style of equipment Palmer used in his prime.
• Todd Miller, on Johnny Miller's job as golf analyst for NBC Sports: "He's my father, so I'm not going to criticize him. But some of his comments are a little over the edge sometimes.”

Stat of the week

Nine players on Europe's Ryder Cup team have won this year, compared to four players who have won on the U.S. team.

Final word

"He shot about 90. I think his scorecard said 84." Bryce Molder, on playing golf with President Clinton.

AP