GOLF / PGA CHAMPIONSHIP : Stockton Expects to Hear a Lot About Nicklaus

Dave Stockton already knows what sort of greetings he will get from the galleries as he plays in the 73rd PGA Championship beginning today at Crooked Stick Golf Club.

“It’ll be the same thing I’ve been hearing all year,” the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team said. “They’ll be yelling, ‘C’mon Dave, give Jack a chance! C’mon Dave, you gotta pick Nicklaus!’

“I don’t blame the people. He’s had a good year, he comes off a big win in the (U.S.) Senior Open and he’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen. Sure I’m considering him. But I’m considering a lot of guys. I’m more confused now than I’ve been in a long time and I’ve got to get it done next week. My short list keeps getting longer.”

The confusion comes down to two spots. For the 12-man U.S. team selected every two years to face a team from Europe, a point system based on performance on the PGA Tour and in the major tournaments is used: The top 10 point scorers are automatically in. After that, Stockton, a two-time PGA champion, gets two wild-card choices based on his judgment as to who will be the most effective in the match-play competition. Those picks will be announced next Tuesday.

The Sept. 27-29 matches will be held on a new Pete Dye-designed links course at Kiawah Island, S.C. Many say that favors the European style of play. With European golf on the rise, the Ryder Cup has never received more scrutiny by public and media. The American team has not won since 1983, with losses in 1985 and 1987 and a tie in 1989.

During a news conference this week, Stockton said he still has six or seven players on his wild-card list and would love to see several now out of the top 10, such as Tom Kite (No. 12) and Chip Beck (No. 13), make a strong showing in the PGA and move into an automatic spot.

He also said: “If push comes to shove on a young player versus an older player, I’ll pick a younger player, though sentiment leans toward Jack.”

Six players already have clinched spots--Fred Couples, Payne Stewart, Lanny Wadkins, Hale Irwin, Corey Pavin and ailing Paul Azinger, who is skipping the PGA. The rest of the top 10 are Mark O’Meara, Mark Calcavecchia, Wayne Levi and Tim Simpson. Steve Pate, also on Stockton’s list of wild-card candidates, is No. 11.

Stockton said he is also seriously considering Tom Watson, Ray Floyd and Curtis Strange, none of whom can get into the points’ top 10; like Nicklaus, they have not played enough events.

The Nicklaus issue is among Stockton’s most vexing. “If the public had its way, it’d be Nicklaus and Watson,” he said. “Right now, Jack is not in my top four” for a wild card.

PGA Notes

British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch declared himself fit for the PGA Wednesday after being idled 10 days because of a bad back. “We’ve got it in good shape now,” the 30-year-old Australian said after he played a practice round accompanied by his chiropractor. His back bothered him so much Tuesday that he completed only two practice holes before leaving to seek treatment. . . . Nick Price withdrew Wednesday, telling tournament officials his wife is expecting their first child later in the week. He was replaced in the 151-man field by Brad Bryant.