Mayfair Makes Move to Regain Bit of Spotlight

The defending champion usually gets the headlines at a PGA tournament, at least until the first round has been played. And he goes into the tournament with a feeling of confidence because he played the course so well the previous year.

Billy Mayfair is the defending champion in the Nissan Open, but you would never know it from the hoopla over David Duval and Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.

Mayfair is almost the tournament’s forgotten man.

“I don’t know about being forgotten, I got a nice reception on the first tee when I was introduced as the defending champion,” Mayfair said after shooting a four-under-par 67 Friday for a 136 score that is only three strokes off the pace set by Bob Estes.

“In some ways, it may have worked to my advantage. I was a little surprised when I wasn’t invited to the press room for the usual defending champion interview, but it gave me more time to work on my game on the range. It was kind of nice, actually, not to have some of the distractions that usually go with it.”

Mayfair won the 1998 Nissan Open--defeating Woods in a playoff--at Valencia Country Club in the Santa Clarita Valley, while this year it’s back at its usual home at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

“The courses are quite different, but both are shot-makers’ courses,” he said. “Riviera is such a great course that most of the players looked forward to returning here after a year’s absence, but there wasn’t a single tour player who didn’t leave Valencia without saying how much he enjoyed it.”

The tournament moved to Valencia last year because Riviera hosted the U.S. Senior Open and club members did not want to give up their tee times twice in the same year.

“The main difference is in the greens,” Mayfair said. “The greens at Valencia were much smoother and more predictable. Riviera has a different type of grass and there are subtle breaks that are hard, sometimes impossible, to read.

“I don’t think anyone will roll the table the way I did in the first round last year [a six-under 65] in the next two rounds here. It’s just too tough getting the ball in the hole. You think you have the perfect line and the ball rolls toward the cup and then it breaks away right at the hole.”

Five birdies and one bogey left the defending champion smiling at the end of the second round.

“I’m very much looking forward to the weekend,” he said. “I was striking the ball better today. On Wednesday and Thursday I felt kind of ragged. Today was a good day. I’d like to finish strong here and head for La Costa and that big payout next week.”

Mayfair is one of 64 players invited to play in the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa. He is scheduled to meet Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain in the first round Wednesday.

“I haven’t played in a match-play tournament since I was at Arizona State,” he said. “I’m kind of looking forward to it. And there’s a heck of a lot of money to shoot for.”

The winner’s purse is $1 million. Sunday’s winner at Riviera will collect $504,000.

Mayfair was quite successful in match play, winning the U.S. Public Links title in 1986 and the U.S. Amateur in 1987.

“That was a long time ago,” he said. “Right now, I’m more concerned about tomorrow and Sunday and putting Riviera’s greens. The field is really bunched up. Like I said, I can’t see anyone running the table, so it should be a great finish.”