Golf Capsules: The world championships of America
DORAL, Fla. — On his way to the practice range Tuesday at Doral, Padraig Harrington stopped to sign autographs for three fans. One was from Puerto Rico, another from Colombia, the third from Peru.
So at least it sounds like a World Golf Championship.
And there is little doubt that events like the CA Championship look like a World Golf Championship, with 19 countries represented in a field of 68 players.
But there is no getting around the dateline, which is strictly American — Arizona, Florida, Ohio. The PGA Tour, which is the managing partner of these world events, now can point proudly to another WGC that is held each fall in Shanghai, although it’s hard to recognize the HSBC Champions when the PGA Tour still doesn’t count it as an official victory.
"That’s inside baseball," commissioner Tim Finchem said in a recent interview. "What’s important is what the fans see, and they see tournaments designed to attract all the best players in the world. And by and large, that’s what they’ve done."
To that point, the WGCs have done well entering their 12th year.
What continues to disappoint, however, is how these world championships remain concentrated in the United States.
They once traveled to countries like Spain, Australia and Ireland. Momentum began to slow when the all the WGCs were held in America in 2003, and it didn’t help that one of them was played on a new golf course located so deep in the woods that it was either in northern Georgia or southern Tennessee, maybe both.
This is the fourth straight year the original three WGCs are in America. And they aren’t going anywhere soon.
The title sponsorship at Doral expires this year, and there is no indication Computer Associates will renew. That would seem to be a ripe time for this WGC to travel abroad, except that Finchem says the tournament is tied more to the TV contract than a sponsor contract. The network television deal is through 2012.
"I think we’re a little bit away from that question," Finchem said. "We’re not going to make any changes until we’re through ‘12. We have a television schedule to meet. What happens after ‘12 with the WGCs is a function of a variety of factors."
Ideally, the tour could release Doral from its WGC status and return it to a full-field event that it had been since 1962. The Blue Monster once bustled with activity from the first ray of sunlight until darkness, with 144 players split up into morning and afternoon tee times. Under the WGC structure of a limited field and no cut, the 68 players tee off in a span of two hours.
The WGC event then would be free to move. And without a new title sponsor, it might do that.
It just won’t go very far.
Even if CA doesn’t renew its sponsorship, or if the tour can’t find a replacement, Finchem said this WGC event will stay in the Eastern time zone of the United States.
"We don’t see any reason to move right now," he said. "It meets our television requirements and air times."
The potential for these World Golf Championships living up to their name could come after 2012, and the Olympics could be the catalyst. Harrington is among those who believe South America — Brazil, in particular — could be the next big growth area in golf.
The Irishman went to Brazil in 2000 when the European Tour had consecutive tournaments. He lost in a playoff to Roger Chapman in Rio de Janeiro, then won the following week in Sao Paulo.
"It is an untapped market for golf," Harrington said. "South America is the next big growth area."
The Nationwide Tour just finished its first tournament in Colombia, and Finchem indicated more tournaments could follow to help build interest ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
"We will be looking for some opportunities to play some PGA Tour, Champions Tour, some golf in Brazil leading into ‘16 to create some interest in that country, particularly Rio for sure," he said. "I can’t tell you what form that would take. But we definitely want to play."
Finchem has mentioned taking the Presidents Cup to South America in 2015. Argentina is among countries interested, although that might not move the needle in Brazil.
Another possibility?
"It could be a World Golf Championship one year," Finchem said. "It could be just to play a winter event. There are a number of things we can do, but we need to do some stuff."
The sooner the better. Golf was voted into the Olympics for 2016 and 2020, but it faces another vote in 2017 to determine whether it stays beyond two games. The sport essentially has one shot to show it’s worth keeping, which means it desperately needs a good tournament, a strong gallery and a solid TV presentation.
"We’re playing essentially in a fledgling golf country," Finchem said. "We need galleries from one of two sources — either people who live in Brazil who can become golf fans, or people who are coming to Brazil for the Olympics. That would be a broader percentage of golf fans, but there’s all kinds of stuff going on.
"We’ve got to build some interest in Brazil," he said. "To do that, we need to do a number of things. And one thing is to play."
Doug Ferguson covers golf for The Associated Press.
McIlroy picks up a tip from Golden Bear
DORAL, Fla. — Rory McIlroy began his road to the Masters with what he calls the "best 90 minutes" he has spent in a long time.
He had lunch last week with Jack Nicklaus.
"An unbelievable experience," McIlroy said Tuesday.
McIlroy, a 20-year-old from Northern Ireland who already is No. 9 in the world, met with Nicklaus at The Bear’s Club on the eve of the Honda Classic, a lunch set up through a network of friends.
He wanted to learn as much as he could about winning from Nicklaus, whose 18 professional majors are the benchmark in golf. He got more than he could have imagined.
"It was great to sit down and talk to him and see his approach to winning and what went through his head whenever he was in contention, and what things he might have done differently than other people," he said. "It was probably the best 90 minutes I’ve spent in a long time."
McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic last year for his only European Tour victory, although he has contended enough times to move into the top 10 in the world and be viewed as one of golf’s rising stars. He has been working with sports psychologist Bob Rotella for help with finishing off tournaments.
It didn’t hurt meeting with Nicklaus.
The one story that stayed with him was Nicklaus’ tale that he didn’t win the best tournament he ever played. That would be the 1977 British Open at Turnberry, the famous "Duel in the Sun" in which Nicklaus and Tom Watson shot identical scores each day until Watson closed with a 65 — one last birdie on the 18th hole — to win by one shot.
"I think one of the biggest things that I took from it was patience, and just to learn to wait and learn to bide your time and know that if you believe in yourself that it will happen," McIlroy said. "So it’s just a matter of waiting and staying patient."
He figured Nicklaus was similar to Tiger Woods in terms of winning big in the majors, building a lead and crushing the competition. What he realized was that the Golden Bear often waited for the competition to wilt.
"His mindset to winning was different than I thought it would be," McIlroy said. "He waited for guys to make mistakes. He had a lot more majors handed to him than he won."
McIlroy didn’t come to lunch with a list of questions, but said he was nervous.
"I felt very privileged to be able to have lunch with him, and just to pick his brain," McIlroy said. "He’s won 18 major championships and just to get some of that knowledge and to just learn from it, it was incredible."
-- Doug Ferguson
Notebook: Tournaments ready for Tiger’s return
DORAL, Fla. — Not long after Tiger Woods returned home and starting practicing, the PGA Tour began checking with tournaments to make sure they were prepared to handle the hype over the world’s No. 1 player getting back to golf.
That even includes tournaments he has never played.
"Historically, he hasn’t played the week before the Masters," said Steve Timms, tournament director of the Houston Open, which is the week before the Masters. "But these are unusual times. We’re prepared from a security and media standpoint. We’ve been watching the media closely, and we’ve had some weird ones."
Timms, like other tournament directors, are in touch with PGA Tour officials about who is applying for media credentials.
The more immediate focus is in Florida. Woods hasn’t played at Innisbrook since Kelli Kuehne was his partner in 1996 at the old JCPenney Classic. Long before Woods was exposed for cheating on his wife, there had been increasing speculation that he was considering the Transitions Championship one of these years, although this doesn’t appear to be one of them.
Even so, tournament director Gerald Goodman said tour officials contacted him last week.
"They described it as talking to all tournaments," Goodman said. "They gave no indication that they knew anything, they were just wanting to be thorough. They asked us if we had room for media. We’re a large resort on a thousand acres. There’s plenty of room."
Scott Wellington didn’t need a phone call to start planning. He’s the tournament director of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where Woods is a six-time champion (including last year) and lives a short drive away.
Wellington said the tour shared information from its experience at the TPC Sawgrass, where Woods spoke publicly Feb. 19 for the first time since his car accident the morning after Thanksgiving. Some 300 media came to a nearby hotel to cover the event.
Bay Hill is not the largest property, although it typically has a large media turnout because it is two weeks before the Masters.
"We’ll accommodate to the extent we’re able to," Wellington said. "But it’s like a balloon. It can only get so big. We’ve discussed ‘Plan B’ scenarios, and we’re prepared to react as best we can. Obviously, it would help to get as much advance knowledge as we can."
Woods typically does not enter a tournament until a day or two before the 5 p.m. Friday deadline, although there are indications from his management team that more notice will be given in this case.
PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw described the phone calls as typical conversations the tour has with its events on subjects ranging from media coverage to charity to television. In this case, another topic was added — the return of Woods.
"We’ve not indicated that we have inside knowledge," Votaw said. "We just want them to be aware so they’re no scrambling."
MR. HARRINGTON GOES TO WASHINGTON: Padraig Harrington can’t think of a better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day — at the White House for a party hosted by President Barack Obama.
Ireland’s three-time major champion says he has been invited to the White House on March 17 for an annual St. Patrick’s Day party that the president hosts for the Irish taoiseach.
"I’m looking forward to it," Harrington said, who shared his good news with no prompting. "I want to meet one of the most charismatic people in the world, and the most influential leaders in the world. And he’s a golfer. I quite enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day."
But he’ll take it easy on the celebration.
"I have a tee time the next day," Harrington said.
In what is sure to be a busy week, the Irishman plans to play that week in the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook.
ENGLISH LESSON: Of the eight English players among the top 75 in the world ranking, four of them are PGA Tour members. All but one of those four — Justin Rose — has won in America.
Ian Poulter was the most recent at the Match Play Championship, with Paul Casey winning a year ago and Luke Donald a two-time winner. Rose is 0-for-154 on the PGA Tour and can only hope he’s next.
"I played good enough golf to win out here," Rose said after his third-place finish at the Honda Classic. "I’ve been close a few times. I would have hoped that one of them would have got in the way by now. Sometimes winning just gets in the way without you trying too hard."
PINEHURST MAKEOVER: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have been hired for a restoration project at Pinehurst No. 2 that has nothing to do with the U.S. Open returning in 2014. The course will not be significantly lengthened, only one tee box will be changed, the course will have minimal mowed rough and the fairways will be widened.
Coore and Crenshaw will return natural and strategic character to the course, with work set to begin in the fall. The changes include a return to sandy waste areas, native wiregrass and natural bunker edges on the Donald Ross design.
"It is not our intent to radically change this golf course," Coore said. "We’re trying to uncover it, not recover it. We’re trying to take what Ross left and perhaps bring it back to the character and definition of what was once here. In short, we’ll bring the strategy back, and reinstate its character."
The course closes from Nov. 15 until March 2, and the majority of the work is expected to be done by then.
"We’re not doing this for purely environmental reasons, nor are we doing this project as preparation for the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships," said Pinehurst president Don Padgett II. "We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do, as stewards of this historic course."
DIVOTS: Larry Thiel, who for years was executive director of The International, has joined the Bob Hope Classic as tournament chairman. ... Seven former major champions are in the field at the Puerto Rico Open, including Tom Kite. ... A Massachusetts couple bid $28,500 to play in the Houston Open pro-am with U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and ESPN radio hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic. Shell Oil added $20,000, with proceeds going for the V-Foundation for Cancer Research. The couple’s bid also includes airfare and hotel.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are No. 47 and No. 48 in the world ranking, separated by .0000275 points.
FINAL WORD: "Three rounds is a good thing. They don’t need to kill us out here." Fred Couples on playing the Champions Tour.
-- Doug Ferguson
Golf Glance
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
CA Championship
Site: Doral, Fla.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: TPC Blue Monster at Doral (7,334 yards, par 72).
Purse: $8.5 million. Winner's share: $1.53 million.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 1-5 p.m., 7:30 p.m.- 11:30 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday, 1-5 p.m.; Sunday, 2-6 p.m.).
Last year: Phil Mickelson won the second of his three 2009 tour titles. Taken to a hospital on the eve of the final round because of heat exhaustion and dehydration, Mickelson parred the final seven holes to beat Nick Watney by a stroke. Tiger Woods tied for ninth in his first stroke-play event since returning from a knee injury.
Last week: Colombia's Camilo Villegas won the Honda Classic at PGA National for his third PGA Tour victory, finishing at 13 under for a five-stroke victory over Anthony Kim. ... South Korea's Noh Seung-yul won the Malaysian Open, beating countryman K.J. Choi by a stroke for his second Asian Tour victory and first PGA European Tour title.
Notes: Woods, a three-time winner at Doral, is taking an indefinite leave to sort out his personal life. He has resumed practice, but has not said when he'll return. ... Mickelson is winless in four starts this year. He won the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in November. ... Ian Poulter won the first WGC event of the year, beating Paul Casey in the Accenture Match Play final. ... The Transitions Championship is next week at Innisbrook. The Tavistock Cup between Orlando-area clubs Isleworth — possibly with Woods in the lineup — and Lake Nona is March 22-23.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
PGA TOUR
Puerto Rico Open
Site: Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico (7,526 yards, par 72).
Purse: $3.5 million. Winner's share: $630,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Friday, Noon-2 a.m., 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Noon-2 a.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11-2 a.m., 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Monday, 11-1 a.m.).
Last year: Michael Bradley won his first PGA Tour title in 11 years, holing an 11-foot birdie putt for a one-stroke victory over Jason Day and Brett Quigley.
Last week: Colombia's Camilo Villegas won the Honda Classic at PGA National for his third tour victory, beating Anthony Kim by five strokes.
Notes: Tom Kite, the course designer, is making his first PGA Tour start since the 2008 event. ... John Daly and Mark Calcavecchia also are in the field along with Boo Weekley, 2008 winner Greg Kraft, Champions Tour winners Fred Funk and Tom Pernice Jr. and Puerto Rican players Rafael Campos, Max Alverio and Erick Morales. Campos, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth, tied for 78th in 2008.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
AUSTRALIAN LADIES PROFESSIONAL GOLF/LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
Women's Australian Open
Site: Melbourne, Australia.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Commonwealth Golf Club (6,673 yards, par 73).
Purse: $544,660. Winner's share: $68,085.
Television: None.
Last year: England's Laura Davies won the national open for the second time, finishing with rounds of 67 and 68 at Metropolitan for a one-stroke victory over Spain's Tania Elosegui. Davies also won in 2004 at Concord.
Last week: Karrie Webb won her seventh Australian Ladies Masters title, closing with a course-record 11-under 61 for a six-stroke victory. The Australian star finished at 26-under 262 at Royal Pines to match the tournament record she set in 1999.
Notes: Webb won in 2000, '02, '07 and '08. In 2008 at Kingston Heath, she beat Jiyai Shin with a 10-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff. Webb swept the Masters and Open in 2000 and 2007. ... The 46-year-old Davies won the New Zealand Women's Open two weeks ago for her 73rd worldwide title. ... Yani Tseng, Katherine Hull, Lindsey Wright, Anna Nordqvist, Sophie Gustafson, Christina Kim and 15-year-old U.S. amateur Alexis Thompson are in the field. ... The European tour will be in Morocco next week for the Lalla Meryem Cup.
On the Net: http://playgolf.com.au
ALPG site: http://www.alpg.com.au
Ladies European Tour site: http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com
LPGA TOUR
Next event: Kia Classic, March 25-28, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.
Last event: Japan's Ai Miyazato won the HSBC Champions in Singapore on Feb. 28 to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season. She beat Cristie Kerr by two strokes.
On the Net: http://www.lpga.com
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Next event: Cap Cana Championship, March 26-28, Punta Espada Golf Club, Nicklaus Course, Cap Cana, Dominican Republic.
Last week: Fred Couples won the Toshiba Classic for his second straight Champions Tour title, shooting 66-64-65 for a four-stroke victory in Newport Beach, Calif. In his only other Champions Tour starts, he won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in Florida and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening event in Hawaii.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Next event: Louisiana Open, March 25-28, Le Triomphe Country Club, Broussard, La.
Last week: Steve Pate became the oldest champion in Nationwide Tour history, winning the Bogota Open when Aaron Watkins missed a 3-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff. At 48 years, 9 months, 11 days, Pate broke the tour record of 48 years, 6 months, 17 days set by Dick Mast in the 1999 New Mexico Classic. Pate won for the first time since the 1998 CVS Charity Classic, the last of his six PGA Tour titles.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
Men
NGA HOOTERS TOUR: F&S Asset Management Group Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Amelia National Golf and Country Club, Fernandina Beach, Fla. On the Net: http://www.ngahooterstour.com
PGA EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR: Thailand Senior Masters, Friday-Sunday, Royal Gems Golf Club, Nakhonpathom, Thailand. On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com
Women
JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Yokohama PRGR Ladies Cup, Friday-Sunday, Tosa Country Club, Kochi, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp
