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Office of Student Life
University of Oregon
Overall,
golf field
sti 11 good
■The elite golfers are not
playing in as many matches,
but there’s still plenty of
professionals to watch
By Doug Ferguson
The Associated Press
Hal Sutton’s smile turned into
a snarl after two questions.
How could a tournament with
so much tradition, played on a
quality golf course, attract so few
of the top players from the world
rankings? What does it say for a
tournament when Tiger Woods
doesn’t come?
“Everybody in this field is a
bigger star than any of you will
ever be,” Sutton shot back at a
room full of reporters.
Over the past two weeks, com
plaints could be heard from
Greensboro to Houston that the
fields were better suited for the
Buy.com Dakota Dunes Open
than the elite PGA Tour.
Sutton was at both tourna
ments. He won at Greensboro.
But his sharp rebuke came two
years ago at the Canadian Open,
where the gallery lined the 18th
fairway at Glen Abbey Golf Club
to watch an amazing finish. Billy
Andrade made a 30-foot par putt
to force a playoff, then won on
the first extra hole by strategically
chipping into a bunker to protect
par.
All of which proves two
things.
One, the PGA Tour rarely lacks
great theater from great players,
even if they arenT familiar
names. And two, complaining
about MVPs who are MIA is
nothing new.
Jack Nicklaus was the premier
player in golf. He won three ma
jors his first three years — then
never played more than 22 times
a year on tour.
Woods, by the way, played 21
tour events last year.
Tom Watson was a star when
he won the Masters and British
Open in 1977. He played 24 tour
naments the following year and
never more than 22 after that.
David Duval played 21 times
last year, and is on pace to play a
couple of more this year.
“It’s always been an issue,”
commissioner Tim Finchem said
Tuesday. “When I became com
missioner six years ago, it was
Fred Couples and Greg Norman.
If a tournament didn’t have those
players, there was some level of
disappointment.”
Neither Woods nor Duval, the
top two players in the world
rankings, were at Greensboro or
Houston. Neither is in New Or
leans this week.
somehow, the Compaq Classic
will go on without them. Most of
the corporate packages were sold
long before the field was an
nounced. Tournament director
Rick George was busy tending to
last-minute details Monday night.
“It’s shaping up to be a great
tournament,” George said. “It
doesn’t matter who comes. It’s
still going to be the greatest play
ers in the world.”
Sure, any tournament would
love to have a Tiger Woods. He
not only is the biggest star in golf,
but the biggest in sports today.
“I’d love to have them all,”
George said.
If anything, the recent furor
over weak fields is a product of
the world rankings.