Golf Notes June 2

Pak finally signs contract deal

Se Ri Pak, who played the Maxfli Revolution ball when she won two majors and two other LPGA tour events last year as a rookie, will finally get paid for it.

In her first equipment contract since turning over her management to IMG, Pak signed a three-year contract with Maxfli on Tuesday. In exchange for what one official said was the largest ball contract in women's golf, Maxfli got a piece of Pak's hat.

The hat is the most visible marketing tool in golf, but the front of it belongs to Samsung, the Korean electronics company that has a 10-year sponsorship agreement with Pak.

Maxfli settled for the right side of the hat, as well as the right to use Pak in advertisements, which should be particularly helpful in Asian markets.

"In all my years, this is very near the top," IMG agent Jay Burton said of the contract. "That's a reflection on Se Ri herself and how Maxfli views women's golf."

Negotiations are still proceeding with Callaway Golf -- Pak uses the X-12 irons -- although the Maxfli signing likely will change the structure of any deal. The only advertising space left is on part of her bag and the shirt sleeve, which would diminish the size of any contract.

CAPTAIN JAMES: The best way for a mid-40s man to get his game back in shape apparently is to become a Ryder Cup captain.

Two years ago while running spread sheets on his potential Ryder Cup team, Tom Kite finished second to Tiger Woods in the Masters and wound up 35th on the money list. By September, he raised speculation whether he would be a playing captain.

European captain Mark James, 45, has a tougher dilemma. By finishing second in the Volvo PGA Championship behind Colin Montgomerie, James moved up to seventh in the Ryder Cup standings.

James, who said he would not be a playing captain at The Country Club, is not ruling himself out.

"At the moment, it's still a bit too early, but I guess if I were to go on like this much longer, I would have to sit down with the powers that be and think about what might happen," he said. "It's better not to rule anything out, isn't it?"

James is third on the European money list and has played on seven Ryder Cup teams.

"His wife can captain the team and he can play," Montgomerie said.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY: Mississippi volunteers at the Women's Open are serious when they say they'll give you the shirt off their backs.

Se Ri Pak arrived at Old Waverly Golf Club on Monday afternoon. Her luggage did not. Charlotte Portera, one of more than 1,400 volunteers, asked Pak what size she wore and secured a volunteer's uniform -- khaki shorts and white shirt, complete with Old Waverly and U.S. Women's Open logos.

Looking more like a volunteer than the defending champion, Pak headed to the range to pound balls.

OPEN EXEMPTIONS: Andrew Magee and Scott Gump picked the right tournaments to play their best. Both finished second in $5 million tournaments, which helped them avoid qualifying for the British Open.

The top 50 in the world ranking and the top 20 on the PGA Tour money list as of this week are exempt from final qualifying for Carnoustie.

Magee is No. 43 this week. He was 50th going into the Match Play Championship, where he lost in a 38-hole final to Jeff Maggert. That's been is only top 10 this year.

Gump finished behind David Duval in The Players Championship and earned $540,000, enough to put him 18th on the money list. Take away that second-place check, which is $90,000 more than Rich Beem got for winning the Kemper, and Gump would be 87th on the money list. This will be his first time to play the British Open.

Others exempt from Open qualifying through the world rankings are Jeff Maggert, Jeff Sluman, Bill Glasson, Loren Roberts, Steve Pate, Bob Tway, Bob Estes, Stewart Cink, Fred Funk, Brandt Jobe, Dudley Hart and Tim Herron.

Phoenix Open champion Rocco Mediate also got in by being 20th on the money list.

STROKE CHALLENGE: Corey Pavin lost a chance to win for the first time in three years with a blowup late in the third round of the Kemper Open and a 5-over 76 in the final round. He also lost his bet with Nancy Lopez.

Pavin wound up with 13 birdies in the Kemper, giving him 46 for the month in the American Stroke Challenge. Lopez turned in 14 birdies in the Corning Classic and finished with 47.

Bayer Aspirin donated $1,500 for each birdie in May to the American Stroke Association. The total for the month, including $93,500 raised in New York's Central Park on May 3, was $233,000.

In five years of the program, Bayer has donated $720,200 to stroke and heart research.

OPEN SNUB: Mark James may be debating whether he should play or be captain in the Ryder Cup, but the 45-year-old Englishman is crystal clear on one thing: He has about as much affinity for the U.S. Open as Scott Hoch as for the British Open.

"I'm not into the U.S. Open," he said.

James rejected an invitation to The Olympic Club for last year's U.S. Open. He says his decision was only affirmed after watching it on television.

"It was a joke," he said. ``It was like watching people putt through hoops at the seaside. All they needed on the 18th was a little windmill."

DIVOTS: Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, in a deep slump on the European tour, has dumped coach Pete Cowen and sought help from Butch Harmon. ... Needing to win the Corning Classic to get into the Women's Open, Kathryn Marshall of Scotland led after the first round but then faltered. She still got to Old Waverly as an alternate when Lisa Walters had to withdraw with a hand injury. ... Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., has been selected as site of the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Justin Rose has more consecutive missed cuts (20) that years on earth (19).

FINAL WORD: ``Heck, he made more money yesterday than I'd won all season up to this point." -- Kemper Open winner Rich Beem, on caddie Steve Duplantis.

AP