Players Still Love Skins--and Why Not? : Golf: Watson, Couples, Pavin and Jacobsen go after $540,000 in 13th annual event.

The first, the original, the Skins Game hits Bighorn Golf Club again today with all the force of a mutual fund.

What we’ve got here are four multimillionaires playing golf on television for hundreds of thousands of dollars, five cars, a trophy and jewelry.

It’s the most fun you can have with your money clip on. And it’s one long commercial.

So, what’s wrong with that, Tom Watson asked.

“Don’t forget, we’re still professionals,” Watson said. “We’re out here still playing for the dollars.”

Then it’s probably good that the Skins Game continues to provide these funds. Watson, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin and Peter Jacobsen set off in search of $540,000 in the 13th version of the event, which features nine holes today and nine more Sunday.

It’s a leisurely pace to which we’ve grown accustomed. Before the Skins Game arrived 12 years ago, the late-in-the-year TV golf scene was about as empty as a cavity-backed iron.

Made popular by such stars as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Watson and Gary Player, the Skins Game traditionally has boasted an interesting field playing a catchy format.

Each hole is worth thousands to the player who wins it. The money carries over to the next hole if the previous hole, or skin, is not won outright.

Thus, the Skins Game was born, an idea whose time had come. And despite slipping TV ratings, it’s still a good idea, Watson said.

“I think it’s very relevant,” said Watson, who won $210,000 last year to edge Couples. “You still see good ratings. On Thanksgiving weekend, people look forward to it. It was the first of many extra-season events and it spanned a lot of the fun type of golf that viewers rarely get to see in 72-hole medal-play tournaments.”

Almost from the beginning, the Skins Game has been as friendly to television as a tap-in birdie.

In 1984, the second Skins Game had a higher TV rating than three majors--the U.S. Open, PGA and British Open. In 1986, the Skins Game had a higher TV rating than all four majors. Six times in 12 years, the Skins Game has had better TV ratings than every major except the Masters.

“TV and Mr. Golfing Public, they love it,” said Raymond Floyd, who learned to love the concept after he won $290,000 in the 1988 Skins Game at PGA West. “The reason why it’s successful is because you get to see the players in a little different light and the setting looks good on TV.”

Maybe, but in recent years it seems like the only thing setting on the Skins Game is the sun.

Since the high mark of a 7.0 TV rating and 16 share for the 1986 Skins Game, the event has generally been in a ratings decline. The 1994 Skins Game share, or percentage of TV sets in use tuned into the event, reached its low point with a 10.

It is true that when the Skins Game made its debut 12 years ago at Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz., televised off-season golf events were rare. Now, there are one or two every week, it seems.

At the same time, the Skins Games TV ratings were so high, they might have been out of whack and the recent numbers may represent only a correction back to normalcy.

Then again, the Skins Game could need a little updating. Maybe they could cut out a few of the endless commercials that look like interviews. Maybe the players could play faster and say more interesting things into the microphones they wear.

Maybe the players could even play for their own money. Chances are better that cactus will suddenly grow out of a lake.

Floyd sees no reason to make any alterations. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said.

One of the best aspects of the Skins Games is that each player donates 20% of his winnings to a charity of his choice.

The first six holes are worth $20,000, the next six $30,000 and the last six $40,000. That’s a lot more than Watson dared to think about making when he turned pro in 1971.

“I was hoping I could make $750 a week,” Watson said. “I owed my sponsors $200 a week.

“I still believe we as professionals are playing for money,” he said. “We are also playing for pride. I don’t want to let those other characters beat me. I want to win.”

Better get the cars, the jewelry, the trophy and the money ready. Four guys who have won more than $23 million in prize money are here and they’re looking for more.