Tournaments ready for Tiger’s return
March 9, 2010
DORAL, Florida (AP)—Not long after Tiger Woods returned home and startingpracticing, the PGA Tour began checking with tournaments to make sure they wereprepared 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 SteveTimms, tournament director of the Houston Open, which is the week before theMasters. “But these are unusual times. We’re prepared from a security and mediastandpoint. We’ve been watching the media closely, and we’ve had some weirdones.”
Timms, like other tournament directors, are in touch with PGA Tour officialsabout who is applying for media credentials.
The more immediate focus is in Florida. Woods hasn’t played at Innisbrooksince Kelli Kuehne was his partner in 1996 at the old JCPenney Classic. Longbefore Woods was exposed for cheating on his wife, there had been increasingspeculation that he was considering the Transitions Championship one of theseyears, although this doesn’t appear to be one of them.
Even so, tournament director Gerald Goodman said tour officials contactedhim last week.
“They described it as talking to all tournaments,” Goodman said. “Theygave no indication that they knew anything, they were just wanting to bethorough. They asked us if we had room for media. We’re a large resort on athousand acres. There’s plenty of room.”
Scott Wellington didn’t need a phone call to start planning. He’s thetournament director of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where Woodsis a six-time champion (including last year) and lives a short drive away.
Wellington said the tour shared information from its experience at the TPCSawgrass, where Woods spoke publicly Feb. 19 for the first time since his caraccident the morning after Thanksgiving. Some 300 media came to a nearby hotelto cover the event.
Bay Hill is not the largest property, although it typically has a largemedia turnout because it is two weeks before the Masters.
“We’ll accommodate to the extent we’re able to,” Wellington said. “Butit’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 asmuch advance knowledge as we can.”
Woods typically does not enter a tournament until a day or two before the 5p.m. Friday deadline, although there are indications from his management teamthat more notice will be given in this case.
PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw described the phone calls as typicalconversations the tour has with its events on subjects ranging from mediacoverage to charity to television. In this case, another topic was added—thereturn of Woods.
“We’ve not indicated that we have inside knowledge,” Votaw said. “We justwant them to be aware so they’re no scrambling.”
MR. HARRINGTON GOES TO WASHINGTON: Padraig Harrington can’t think of abetter way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day—at the White House for a partyhosted by President Barack Obama.
Ireland’s three-time major champion says he has been invited to the WhiteHouse on March 17 for an annual St. Patrick’s Day party that the president hostsfor the Irish taoiseach.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Harrington said, who shared his good newswith no prompting. “I want to meet one of the most charismatic people in theworld, and the most influential leaders in the world. And he’s a golfer. I quiteenjoy 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 inthe Transitions Championship at Innisbrook.
ENGLISH LESSON: Of the eight English players among the top 75 in the worldranking, four of them are PGA Tour members. All but one of those four—JustinRose—has won in America.
Ian Poulter was the most recent at the Match Play Championship, with PaulCasey winning a year ago and Luke Donald a two-time winner. Rose is 0-for-154 onthe PGA Tour and can only hope he’s next.
“I played good enough golf to win out here,” Rose said after histhird-place finish at the Honda Classic. “I’ve been close a few times. I wouldhave hoped that one of them would have got in the way by now. Sometimes winningjust gets in the way without you trying too hard.”
PINEHURST MAKEOVER: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have been hired for arestoration project at Pinehurst No. 2 that has nothing to do with the U.S. Openreturning in 2014. The course will not be significantly lengthened, only one teebox will be changed, the course will have minimal mowed rough and the fairwayswill be widened.
Coore and Crenshaw will return natural and strategic character to thecourse, with work set to begin in the fall. The changes include a return tosandy waste areas, native wiregrass and natural bunker edges on the Donald Rossdesign.
“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 Rossleft and perhaps bring it back to the character and definition of what was oncehere. 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 workis expected to be done by then.
“We’re not doing this for purely environmental reasons, nor are we doingthis project as preparation for the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Openchampionships,” said Pinehurst president Don Padgett II. “We’re doing itbecause it’s the right thing to do, as stewards of this historic course.”
DIVOTS: Larry Thiel, who for years was executive director of TheInternational, has joined the Bob Hope Classic as tournament chairman. … Sevenformer major champions are in the field at the Puerto Rico Open, including TomKite. … A Massachusetts couple bid $28,500 to play in the Houston Open pro-amwith U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and ESPN radio hosts Mike Greenberg andMike Golic. Shell Oil added $20,000, with proceeds going for the V-Foundationfor Cancer Research. The couple’s bid also includes airfare and hotel.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are No. 47and 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 outhere.” Fred Couples on playing the Champions Tour.
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