Nicklaus, Watson Among New Orleans Open Lineup

They’re calling it the finest field ever assembled for a professional golf tournament here, and even allowing for a biased viewpoint it’s pretty good--Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lanny Wadkins and Hal Sutton among the more luminous names.

Eight of the year’s top 20 money winners are in the field for the $400,000 USF&G; Golf Tournament that begins today. Again, not bad for an event of this size, considering that there are million-dollar tournaments next week in Las Vegas and the following week at the Tournament Players Championship.

Wadkins is second leading money winner on the tour with $185,010 a quarter of the way through the season. Watson is 12th with $75,003.

Nicklaus is back in the standings at 33rd, but the golfing legend doesn’t need a lofty ranking to draw a gallery. Nor does Sutton, the Shreveport, La., native who was PGA Player of the Year in 1983 and is 25th in earnings this season.

Bob Eastwood, who took home $72,000 as the winner here last year, is one of nine defending champions in the field. Watson won it in 1980 and 81, Nicklaus in 73.

Weather for the pro-am segment played on Monday and Wednesday was about perfect, sunny, winds of under 10 m. p. h., temperatures in the mid-80s.

The forecast is for afternoon showers and slightly cooler temperatures through the four days of the tournament.

One of the players entered who has won the tournament is George Archer, first-place finisher in the event in 1968.

“Last year I won more money ($207,543) than I ever won when I was playing my best golf. Of course, there’s a lot more money available,” he said. “When I started, in 1964, $50,000 was a big tournament.”

“It’s still the same game -- get the ball in the hole.”