GOLF THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP : Kite Believes It’s Major League

Tom Kite regards the Players Championship that begins today at the Tournament Players Club in Sawgrass as a fifth major.

Now Kite, who hasn’t won what is generally regarded as a major championship--Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA--might be biased.

After all, he’s the defending champion on this demanding stadium course with an island green and a premium on accuracy.

However, Kite said he suggested that this tournament is a major long before he won here.

Other professionals don’t agree with Kite’s evaluation. Nonetheless, the top players say that this is the strongest field assembled on the tour.

“It’s not a fifth major, but it’s a good golf tournament,” said Curtis Strange, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion. “The field has more depth than any we have on the tour.”

That assessment was made with the knowledge that some of the top foreign players, with the exception of Greg Norman and Sandy Lyle, aren’t playing here.

“I’m surprised those guys aren’t here,” Paul Azinger said.

Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo would be in that category.

Asked if the Players tournament would be even more prestigious with the addition of more top-ranked foreign players, Kite said:

“It would be nice if they were over here, but I don’t think a tournament has to have any one, or two particular players play in it to be a major championship.

“The game is so much bigger than any one or two players that it doesn’t detract from the tournament at all.

“Personally, I think they’re making a mistake by not playing in this tournament. You only have a chance to play in a limited number of tournaments of this caliber in your lifetime. And, if you start passing them up, you’re not giving yourself the best chance to make your mark.

“I feel the same way about the top players here in the States passing up the British Open. One of the prerequisites of winning a golf tournament is to enter it. I do know that.”

As for the stature of Players Championship, Kite said:

“It has all the ingredients that normally go into a major championship except history. There is no way to shortcut that. It just takes time.

“I don’t see any reason why there has to be four (majors). It could be three, or five. It has changed before and it will change as time goes on.”

In any event, many of the world’s best players are here with some at the top of their game, or close to it.

Take Norman, for example.

He won the Doral Open two weeks ago with a typical late charge climaxed by an eagle chip on the first playoff hole to defeat Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia and Tim Simpson.

Norman shot a final-round 62 to get into the playoff. In February, he won the Australian Masters championship.

“I’ve always been a confident guy, but I got an extra shot of confidence by winning at Doral,” he said. “It does you a world of good.”

Azinger missed an opportunity to win the Doral outright when he missed a six-foot putt for a bogey on the 18th green.

“Jack Nicklaus just told me to forget about it and that’s what I’m going to do,” Azinger said. “I just let myself down.

“However, since September, it’s the best I’ve ever played.”

Azinger cited his fast finish last year with a second and two third places in tour events, momentum he has carried over to this year.

The 40-year-old Kite, player of the year in 1989, has yet to win on the tour this year, but he said he’s playing better than he ever has.

If he repeats here, he will consider it a major accomplishment even if others don’t.

Golf Notes

John Huston, a first-time winner on the tour with his victory last week at the Honda Classic, had to withdraw from the Players Championship. He suffered a minor head injury in an automobile accident in Palm Harbor, Fla., and was medically advised not to play. There are four first-time winners on the tour this year. The others are Robert Gamez (at Tucson), Tommy Armour III (Phoenix) and David Ishii (Hawaii). . . . Ben Crenshaw has offered an award for his missing putter that was lost or stolen while traveling. His father gave the putter to him when he was 15, and he has used it for 20 years, including his victory in the 1984 Masters. . . . The purse is $1.5 million with $270,000 designated for the winner. . . . The 10 top tour money-winners of 1989 are in the field. PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman was asked if the absence of some foreign players was a slap in the face to him and the tour. “I don’t think there was any intent in this,” he said. “Our tournament isn’t as close to the Masters as it was before.” Beman added that if a top-caliber player passes up this tournament during his career, he would regret it later.