Palmer Waxes Patriotic on Ryder Cup Pay Issue

Would you call Arnold Palmer a traditionalist?

Does a golf ball roll?

This is why it isn’t surprising to learn where Palmer lines up on the issue of paying U.S. players to take part in the Ryder Cup.

“This is a sensitive thing with me,” Palmer said. “The Ryder Cup is about representing your country. That’s very important.”

Being paid, Palmer said, isn’t as important.

“I would hate to walk away from a Ryder Cup team because I didn’t get paid. I feel sorry for these guys that have made this the centerpiece of their complaints. It reflects very poorly on them, to say the least.

“Look, they’re playing for more money and making more money than ever before in the history of golf and these guys can’t give up one weekend a year to play golf for their country? I think that’s selfish, misguided and pretty sad.”

Palmer was never part of a losing Ryder Cup team. He was the winning captain in 1963 and 1975 and he had a 22-8-2 record in six appearances as a player, all of them U.S. victories. He played in a total of 32 matches, behind Billy Casper’s 37 and Lanny Wadkins’ 34.

Palmer pointed out that his views are only his opinion.

“You know, I’m just an old, patriotic guy.”

IT’S A HIT!

So now that the numbers are in and the Tiger Woods-David Duval match-play event turned out to be a prime-time winner, what’s next?

Tiger-Duval II, of course.

Or probably something like it, which is what you do when you have something that works. Yes, you make a sequel. To say there is rejoicing at IMG, which came up with the idea for Monday’s event at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, is like saying golf balls are round.

Not only did IMG turn a tidy $1.5-million fee for selling the rights to ABC, but there’s always next year.

“There’s nothing planned now, but the thing was so incredibly successful, what can you say?” said Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent at IMG. “If you have this kind of show two or three times a year, it loses its unique value . . . but one, well.”

Not surprisingly, Steinberg credited Woods with making the show a success.

“Tiger, with his cross-appeal, he’s the one that pulls nontraditional golf viewers. That’s why there’s a chance this thing is for real. There is no aspect of this that was not very successful.”

Well, maybe one aspect. That would be how the PGA Tour somehow managed to make a mini-mess out of something that clearly should have been ignored. Twenty minutes before the event began, tour rules official Vaughn Moise told Steve Williams, Woods’ caddie, that Williams could not wear shorts and--according to an IMG representative--that Williams “would never work a PGA Tour event again” if he failed to comply.

Woods answered, “Looks like I’m going to Europe next year.”

Of course, Williams wore shorts.

ANOTHER WINNER

Besides Woods and ABC, the real winner from the Woods-Duval match was Nike.

Nike saved a bundle by not advertising during the program, basically because the show amounted to a three-hour ad anyway, with Woods swooshed from head to toe in new products. Speaking of toes, did you notice what was around Tiger’s? The new Woods shoe--the Course Air Tour TW--will be available in February. You can get your pair for $140.

HE’S NO. 2

Woods is going to start the PGA Championship next week as the No. 2-ranked player in the world, thanks to the weird official world ranking system.

How can this be? Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, who apparently has no life, figured it out. Now, pay close attention.

The ranking is based on points built on player performances in a two-year span. The points double in value in the current 52-week period. The points are divided by the number of tournaments played.

Eyes glazing over?

Woods was fourth in the Buick Open last year and got 12 points, a figure that will be reduced to six points on Monday. The four points he had for finishing eighth in the 1997 Buick also will expire.

For losing 10 points but also one event, his average will go from 14.04 to 14.13.

As for Duval, he missed the Buick cut in 1997 and didn’t play it last year, so he loses no points and one tournament, which means he’ll go from 13.92 to 14.20. Duval had picked up six points for finishing 11th in the Greater Hartford Open last week.

Questions? You’re on your own.

YOU DECIDE

Is this good news or not? The PGA Tour rules officials are represented in their contract negotiations with the tour by Richie Phillips.

Just guessing, but if Phillips does as good a job for the rules officials as he did for the major league baseball umpires, tour pros are going to be policing themselves pretty soon.

EYE, EYE, HANK

Hank Kuehne had laser eye surgery last week.

Said Kuehne: “The ball looks a little different.”

The former U.S. Amateur champion will make his pro debut at the Sprint International in two weeks. He also has sponsor’s exemptions into the Air Canada Championship and the Bell Canadian Open and has asked for a few others.

Kuehne hopes he can make enough money to finish in the top 125 on the money list and avoid qualifying school.

MEDINAH REVISITED

Chances are, it’s going to be like old home major week for Hale Irwin, who won the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago, which is also where he will be playing in the PGA Championship.

Irwin is 54 and five years removed from his last PGA Tour victory, but he has won five times on the Senior PGA Tour since May and isn’t about to count himself out of the running when he makes his return to Medinah--even though it has been lengthened to 7,409 yards to make it the longest layout in major championship history.

He took the week off to work on his course-design business and hopes that will help him.

“I need the rest more than I need to hit golf balls,” Irwin said.

“Can I be a factor? I want to be. If I’m playing like I want to play, I think I would have as much chance as anybody in the field.

“I’m not going to fool myself and say because I won in ’90 that I’ll win in ’99 . . . but who knows? Stranger things have happened.”

MORE HALE

Irwin on Tom Watson, who makes his senior tour debut next month: “I think I’ll just roll over and blow away.”

Irwin was joking and he advises Watson to have a sense of humor when he hits the senior trail.

Said Irwin: “There are a lot of senior players who have not enjoyed the extension of their careers. They’re just as grumpy as they’ve ever been. Tom’s career for the most part, the greatest moments, are behind him. I’d tell him ‘Don’t get your expectations so high you disappoint yourself.’ ”

SHORE SHIPPED OUT

Nabisco, the title sponsor of the LPGA’s first major of the year, is dropping Dinah Shore’s name from the event.

The Nabisco Dinah Shore will be the Nabisco Championship next year. The Shore name has been part of the tournament since it began in 1972 as the Dinah Shore Colgate Winners Circle. Shore died in 1994.

Nabisco is planning to increase the prize money $250,000 to $1.25 million in 2000 and place a bronze statue of Shore at the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club.

BYOC (CRACKERS)

Peter Jacobsen on the $2.5-million purse for the first-year Reno-Tahoe Open: “That’s a lot of cheese.”

AND ‘PLEASE SIGN THIS’

For what it’s worth, EA Sports says its CyberTiger computer golf game featuring Woods and which will be released in November is so real the gallery yells, “You da man!”

NORMAN CONQUESTS

It was also a busy week for Greg Norman, who launched a new online lifestyle and destination site (https://www.shark.com), and introduced his own line of wines.

The vineyard venture is called Greg Norman Estates and features reds and whites from Australia. The bottles have shark logos . . . but the wines are probably suitable for other kinds of food as well.

MOMENTOUS

According to the August issue of Sport magazine, the top moment in men’s golf this century was Bobby Jones’ grand slam in 1930. Ben Hogan’s victories in three majors in 1953 were second. Jack Nicklaus was rated the top player, ahead of Jones, Hogan and Palmer. Mickey Wright was the top women’s player of the century.

WHEN IN MALAYSIA

Pfizer has withdrawn its prize of a one-year supply of Viagra for the first two players who made holes in one at the Chequers Golf Classic, which it sponsors on the Malaysian Tour next month. The sponsor is offering cash instead.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

Elgin Baylor, Mac Davis, Monty Hall, Steve Garvey, Mike Connors, Tom Dreesen, Cathy Lee Crosby, Luc Robitaille, Robert Stack, James Woods, Robert Wuhl, Chris McCarron, Danny Sullivan and Ann Meyers Drysdale are among the celebrities who will play in the first Jim Murray Classic, Aug. 16 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. The event benefits the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation. Details: (818) 344-6195.

Taylor Made signed former Arizona All-American and NCAA champion Marisa Baena to a deal to play the company’s irons and driver.

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Vista raised a record $14,679 for its youth program with its sixth annual golf outing.

Tickets are on sale for the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout, to be held Nov. 12-14, at Sherwood Country Club. The event benefits national and local charities, principally the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. Details: (888) 66-SHARK.