Major Victory Means Paying Price of Fame : British Open: Baker-Finch hasn’t had many free moments since winning last year. Couples tries to regain form this week.

Winning a major golf tournament is the ultimate goal of virtually every player.

Tom Kite, who recently won his first major, the U.S. Open, after 21 mainly successful years on the PGA Tour, is reveling in his elevated status.

Yet, for some, the distractions that celebrity brings are difficult to cope with.

For instance, Australian Ian Baker-Finch, the defending champion in the 121st British Open, which begins today at the Muirfield course, has found that celebrity has its drawbacks.

“After winning the Open, there were so many other commitments and distractions that I couldn’t put the same amount of effort into my game as it needed,” he said.

“When I went back to Australia, I wanted to perform well. But it was pretty hard at the Australian Open. I had to speak at five dinners in six days in Melbourne. One day I was looking at my schedule and wondering when I could get some golf (practice) in again.”

Baker-Finch won a tournament in Australia last January, but he hasn’t been as productive on the U.S. tour.

Except for a second-place finish in the Players Championship and a tie for sixth in the Masters, he has mostly struggled.

“I have not been terribly consistent,” Baker-Finch said. “This week I have been spending a lot of time signing autographs and it takes up time. It’s a good, positive reaction, but you have to put it out of your mind and go out and play.”

Then there is Fred Couples. The Sony rankings identify him as the best player in the world. That status seemed verified when he won the Masters in April, capping a hot nine months that included strong play in the U.S. Ryder Cup victory.

Since Couples’ victory at Augusta National, however, his game has been lackluster, with only one top-10 finish, third place in the recent Western Open.

Couples is regarded as a “natural” by his peers, a gifted player with a fluid swing.

He was a reluctant celebrity after the Masters, though, and he still is.

Asked by a reporter if he was quoted as saying he felt like a zombie after the Masters, Couples said:

“I seem to get quoted every time I spit. I don’t know if I quite said that, but I wasn’t really into golf. Everywhere I went, some reporter, or people, were asking me some questions.

“If they want to ask some things about myself that’s fine. But they all want to know what was wrong with the PGA Tour, or Paul Azinger, or Mark O’Meara. I don’t do things like this.

“It’s a tough deal because some people go away thinking I didn’t sign their autographs. I’d like to sit out there all day, but you have things to do.

“I would go to a tournament and talk about my golf game for an hour or two and the next thing I knew I wasn’t hitting any golf balls. Then I’d play on Thursday and not beat anybody.

“I would just as soon not say a word and continue to play well and go to the practice tee and not be bothered.”

Couples will not be bothered if he’s not in contention in future tournaments. But that is obviously not what he has in mind, so he’ll have to live with his celebrity status--for now.

“Lately I haven’t been harassed too much because I haven’t been playing very good,” he said. “My game is just so-so. But I do enjoy the British Open. It’s my favorite tournament to play in--not my favorite to win.”

Couples explained that he enjoys the gallery here, adding that it’s fun for the players.

Muirfield is not his favorite course in the United Kingdom, though. He tied for 40th when the Open was last played here, in 1987.

Britain’s Nick Faldo is generally regarded as the favorite. He won the Open here in 1987. He will have crowd support, and so will Colin Montgomerie, a Scot, who gained prominence in the U.S. Open when he finished third, three strokes behind Kite.

Montgomerie will be playing the first two rounds with Couples and Rocco Mediate.

A native-born Scot hasn’t won the British Open since Tommy Armour in 1931. Sandy Lylewon in 1985, but he was born in England.

“I almost won the U.S. Open, and it has given me a lot of confidence,” Montgomerie said.

He also wants to beat Faldo.

“Nick is the one guy I want to beat, even though he is a friend, because if you beat him, you’re not going to be too far away (from the lead),” Montgomerie said.

There is a strong American contingent here, including Couples, Kite, Davis Love III, Azinger, Raymond Floyd, O’Meara, Payne Stewart, Tom Watson, Corey Pavin, Craig Stadler, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Curtis Strange, and Mark Calcavecchia, the last American to win the British Open in 1989.

Jack Nicklaus, who won the first of his three British Open titles here in 1966, is also in the field.

Nicklaus, 52, a part-time player on the Senior PGA Tour, hasn’t won on the regular tour since the 1986 Masters.

“As far as my game goes, who knows what my game is anymore?” Nicklaus said.

Asked if this would be his last British Open, Nicklaus said, smiling: “I suppose if I won, I would have to defend, wouldn’t I? Muirfield could well be my last Open, or it could one of my last 10 Opens. I just don’t know.”

There was a sprinkling of rain here Wednesday, but there isn’t a reliable forecast for today because the weather is so unpredictable.

The Muirfield course measures 6,970 yards. There is no water, nor any trees, but the rough will be penalizing.

It is not as high as the rough at Pebble Beach, site of the U.S. Open, but if the wind comes up, as it often does from the Firth of Forth, the course becomes a demanding test of golf.