Funds-Filled ‘Shootout Is Trip to Bank

Golf’s televised run for the money continues its programming today with the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout, where the math is simple:

What is it when you divide 20 (players) into 1.1 million (dollars)? An “off-season” golf tournament, of course.

Jay Haas and Tom Kite are the defending champions at Sherwood Country Club, where 10 two-man teams play alternate-shot, best-ball and scramble formats through Sunday.

The off-season kicked off last week with a $1.2-million tournament in Hawaii, a $2-million event in Georgia and, last but not least, the $600,000 Tiger Woods Invitational.

Coming right up, the money on the golf course features such totals as $1.1 million (Shark Shootout), $1 million (PGA Grand Slam), $500,000 (Compaq World Putting Championship), $300,000 (Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational).

Fred Couples set the official, unofficial money record with $750,000 in 1994. The money is unofficial because the PGA Tour does not include it in its count.

All the unofficial events with the unofficial money has been dubbed the “Silly Season,” but Peter Jacobsen takes exception to the term.

“Silly season is a silly term created by a jealous media,” Jacobsen said.

If Jacobsen really wants to talk about jealousy, he should take a poll of the players not invited to play in the off-season events and see how they feel about it.

Steve Elkington, playing the Shark Shootout and the Diners Club next month, said he could fill his schedule with golf if he wanted.

“The top players, you can play almost every week,” he said. “There’s no shortage of tournaments.

“There are those who say there are too many events, that golf is sort of oversaturated. On the other hand, there’s a lot of money to be made in the off-season. We’re professionals and we play golf for money.”

Then you put it on television. Better get with the program.