GOLF SENIORS AT RANCHO PARK : Week After Week, Story Is Different

In the early years of the Senior PGA Tour there was little competition. Only a handful of players were deemed capable of winning.

All that has changed. As the tour for the 50-and-older golfers mushroomed, so did the number of potential tournament winners.

In any given week, there are at least 25 with a shot at the top prize. Already there have been 20 different winners this year, and the competition has made it difficult for anyone to repeat in an event.

Except for Jack Nicklaus, who dominates whenever he plays, only Lee Trevino at Naples, Fla., in February successfully defended his title.

With Nicklaus absent--he plays in only four or five senior tournaments--Mike Hill figures he is in a good position to be a repeater in the $500,000 Security Pacific tournament, which begins today at Rancho Park.

Hill, second to Trevino in earnings a year ago, is having another big season. He leads the 1991 money list with nearly $750,000.

“It is always a good feeling to return to the course you won a tournament on,” Hill said before playing in the pro-am Thursday. “After finishing with the 63 to win it last year, it’s even better.

“The course is in great shape. I’ve never seen more grass on the fairways. My chances of winning depend largely on the putting. If I have 27 or 28 putts in a round, I’m a contender. If I need 32 or 33 putts, I’m in trouble.

“My goal after winning five tournaments and almost $900,000 last year was modest. I wanted to win one or two tournaments and $400,000 or $500,000. You would have to have some kind of giant ego to expect to win $800,000, and I don’t have one.

“I would like to win the money title, but if I don’t, it isn’t really a problem. I have had a great season.”

After this 54-hole tournament on the 6,307-yard, par-71 course, there will be only two other senior tournaments that count on the money list--in Hawaii Dec. 6-8 and in Puerto Rico the following week.

There is a surprise contender. Arnold Palmer, 62, has been playing extremely well. He tied for fourth at Napa last week, only four shots behind the winner. It was his third consecutive finish in the top 10.

He is playing with more enthusiasm than he has shown in a long time.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve been dropping a few putts, because I’m really looking forward to playing these days,” Palmer said. “I’m hitting the ball well. Maybe I can break through.”

Palmer has not won a senior event since 1988, but in 16 tournaments this year, he has won $135,000, his highest total since ’88. When he tees off with Rives McBee and Charlie Sifford today at 10:10 a.m., he will have a big gallery.

The battle for the money title, won last year by Trevino with almost $1.2 million, is among Hill, George Archer and Chi Chi Rodriguez. Hill leads Archer by $9,000 and Rodriguez trails by $77,000.

Rodriguez had the best score in the pro-am Thursday, a five-under-par 66.

The seniors, perhaps overwhelmed by earning so much money at an advanced age, seldom find fault with anything. But there was some concern about how the greens, laced with brown areas, would hold up for three days.

Don January, who leads the Vantage money list (for super seniors over 60) with $176,000, is an expert on course development, and he criticized the Rancho Park greens.

“The brown areas were caused by letting the grass grow too long, then cutting them short,” he said. “There are six new greens and that just shouldn’t happen.”

“I think you have to give them credit for how hard they have worked to get this course ready,” Dale Douglass said.

“But the greens are slower than last year and may get bumpy late in the day.”