U.S. Golf Team Gets Favorable Draw in Dunhill Cup

The United States gained a relatively easy draw with France to open defense of the Dunhill Cup golf tournament Thursday, but the weather could wind up as the key player in the $1-million event.

Cold winds blew across the birthplace of golf for the second consecutive day today and more of the same--and maybe much worse--was forecast for the tournament’s four days.

“From the long-range forecast, it’s going to be a matter of survival,” Scotland’s Sandy Lyle said. “With the winds, the course is playing much longer.”

The U.S. team of Tom Kite, Curtis Strange and Mark Calcavecchia was seeded first in the 16-team field and appeared to have some of the best luck today as officials paired the squads for the first round over the 6,933-yard, par-72 Old Course at St. Andrews.

Calcavecchia is sixth, Kite 11th and Strange 45th on the PGA Tour money-winning list this season. Each has come close to or topped the $1-million mark in a single season, with Kite the career leader with more than $5 million. Strange is a two-time U.S. Open champ and Calcavecchia won the British Open in 1989.

Compare that to the French team of Emmanuel Dussart, Marc Farry and Jean Van de Velde. None has ever won a tournament on the PGA European Tour, with Dussart’s third-place tie in this year’s Tenerife Open the best career finish among the trio. Together, their career purses come to $678,900.

Each member of the winning team gets $100,000, with first-round losers assured of $7,500 each.