GOLF / THOMAS BONK : PGA Tour Gets a Free Drop From the FTC

It took more than five years, but the PGA Tour recently made a birdie, an eagle, a double eagle and a hole in one, all at the same time. At least, that’s pretty much the mood at the PGA Tour offices in Ponte Vedra, Fla., where tour staffers still are celebrating a monumental victory in their long, costly battle with the Federal Trade Commission.

Since 1990, the FTC had the PGA Tour under investigation, largely because of the tour’s television-release and conflicting-event rules. The FTC finally decided to forget the whole thing, overriding a recommendation by FTC staff attorneys, who in February had urged bringing action against the tour.

It was a stunning and total victory for PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem, who exhibited some of his well-honed political acumen along the way. Finchem knows his way around Washington. He served in the Carter White House as deputy adviser to the President for Economic Affairs and was national staff director of the 1980 Carter-Mondale campaign before founding a D.C.-based consulting and marketing firm.

Finchem’s strategy and that of PGA Tour attorney Edward L. Moorhouse was flawless. They enlisted the aid of key members of Congress, including Bill Archer, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who delivered a speech on the Senate floor praising the PGA Tour.

Not only was the tour enlisting influential support from Congress, at the same time it was also laying the groundwork for potential limited antitrust exemptions in the event of an unfavorable decision from the FTC.

On the public relations front, the tour never talked about the FTC investigation without mentioning that money the tour donated to charity would be jeopardized. And it was Finchem, not the FTC, who revealed the FTC staff lawyers’ anti-tour recommendation, which conveniently provided the tour with a timely target to shoot at.

Under existing rules, Finchem must give his approval to PGA Tour members who want to play in tournaments that conflict with tour events. Finchem also decides on allowing appearances by players on TV broadcasts of non-tour events.

“Basically, what we told members of the House and Senate is that we were confident our rules didn’t violate FTC rules,” Moorhouse said. “In fact, our rules were responsible for the growth of golf.”

The PGA Tour, which spent more than $1 million in legal fees over the course of the FTC investigation, held a stance that it needed controls to ensure strong player fields to make the sponsors and the networks happy.

“If our powers had been taken away from us, we’d have been as bad as tennis,” said John Morris, vice president of communications.

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Skins: Tom Watson, who won the Skins Game last year, will try to do it again against Corey Pavin, Fred Couples and Peter Jacobsen at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Nov. 25-26. Watson won $210,000 last year, $160,000 on a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to edge Couples.

Pavin and Jacobsen will be playing in their first Skins Game.

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It’s Fredville: Couples keeps busy even when he isn’t swinging a golf club. The first Couples signature course in California will open for play in June at San Juan Oaks in San Juan Batista, 50 minutes south of San Jose. It is the second course designed by Couples. The first is the recently completed Hamilton Mill Country Club outside Atlanta.

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Dalyism: John Daly, who played in his first Greater Milwaukee Open two weeks ago: “This is the first time I’ve ever been in Wisconsin, so at least I know the cops aren’t after me.”

Golf Notes

The Royal Moroccan Golf Federation’s Hassan II Golf Trophy event may not sound like much to you, but it does to Nick Price, who has entered the $400,000 event and will receive an appearance fee believed to be at least $300,000. . . . Fred Couples and Davis Love III will defend their title in the World Cup of Golf, a special event to be played Nov. 9-12, on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzen, China. . . . The eighth Heart of Jesus Retreat Center charity tournament will be played Sept. 18 at Coto de Caza. The event benefits the retreat center in Santa Ana, which offers family-oriented fellowship and religious education services and is owned by the Sister of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart. Details: 714 858-2686. . . .

Roger Cleveland, who founded Cleveland Golf in Cypress and has been its executive vice president since selling the business to Rossignol in 1990, is leaving to become an independent consultant. . . . Jimmy Ballard, who has taught such players as Peter Jacobsen, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros, Johnny Miller and Jim Colbert, will conduct a golf school Sept. 17-18 at Super Sports Golf and Recreation Center in Orange. Details: 714 282-8880. . . . The 13th Pro-Am Golf Classic to benefit the Home of Guiding Hands will be held Sept. 21-22 at Carlton Oaks Country Club in Santee. The Home of Guiding Hands provides vocational training and residential assistance to those with developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and epilepsy. Details: 619 448-3700.

Rosey Grier is the honorary chairman and Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy, Elgin Baylor, Pat Boone, Don Newcombe, Tommy Davis, Carlos Palomino, Fred Williamson, John Roseboro and Norm Crosby are scheduled to take part in the PapaShon Restaurants celebrity tournament Sept. 25 at MountainGate. The event benefits CaP CURE to find a cure for prostate cancer, and the PapaShon Children’s Foundation. Details: 310 855-0172.