Field Is Strong, Deep and Wet

Bundled up tightly in a blue parka and foul-weather pants and his cap shoved down on his head, David Duval started shivering. He looked like a guy who wished he was someplace else, someplace where it seemed warmer at least, someplace like Sun Valley, Idaho, which is where Duval spent last week snowboarding.

It wasn’t snowing Wednesday at Riviera Country Club, but it was rainy and chilly and so miserable that it was only fit for umbrellas.

There wasn’t even a snowboard in sight to make Duval happy.

“The brochure I got from the chamber of commerce didn’t mention all the rain,” Duval joked. “It said sunny and 75. Hopefully, that will come about.”

Just don’t expect it this week, which is when the Nissan Open will be played at suddenly soggy Riviera. The historic course was built in 1926 without any water hazards, and it probably isn’t a good idea to add them now.

Starting today, barring flood waters, 144 of pro golf’s greatest stars begin the $3.1-million tournament with two important goals: win the $558,000 first prize and avoid sinking up to their ankles in muck.

Tiger Woods, the most publicized non-winner in history last week, handicapped the tournament this way: “There is no clear favorite.”

Woods obviously forgot about the weather.

Ernie Els, the defending champion, is rested after spending the last two weeks at his home in South Africa. This was long enough for Els to declare the state of his game.

“I’m fresh,” he said.

If Els wins again, he may establish new standards in pre-tournament routine. But it won’t be easy for anyone at Riviera, if the conditions don’t improve somewhat, from just plain awful to simply irritating.

But let’s forget the weather for a moment, if that’s possible. There are enough plot lines here to satisfy almost anyone’s interest.

* Can Woods bounce back after not winning a tournament last week?

* Will Duval be as successful on the golf course as he has been riding a board down a snowy mountain?

* Can Fred Couples, who used to own this place, rent part of it for a while?

* How will Notah Begay play with his date in an Albuquerque jail for his drunk-driving conviction coming up in a couple of weeks?

* Can Casey Martin do better than barely making the cut?

* How will John Daly fare without a casino in sight?

* Who will break out of the strong international field: Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke, Jesper Parnevik, Carlos Franco, Lee Westwood, Jean Van de Velde, Nick Price, Frank Nobilo, Bradley Hughes, Stuart Appleby or Shigeki Maruyama?

Add it all up and the Nissan Open has probably its deepest and strongest field ever. Davis Love III pulled out last week after realizing he had played four weeks in a row and needed a break, but he’s about the only top name missing, other than Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie.

One of the reasons for the strong field, besides the allure of Riviera, is next week’s $5-million Andersen Consulting World Match Play Championship at La Costa.

Woods will play that one too, his fourth tournament in a row. Woods tied for second Sunday at Torrey Pines, where he battled Mickelson and his swing. He wound up losing to both.

Butch Harmon worked with Woods on his swing this week, and they have identified what went wrong at Torrey Pines.

“Basically, I was turning my hips too much and getting the club too inside,” Woods said. “I was getting too deep in my swing too early. Hence, the club was stuck on the way down. Hands were a little too high at impact.

“More importantly, my right arm was closing over the left too fast and too early.

“Other than that, it was pretty much nothing.”

Woods went on to say his footwork was bad too. He needs to work on that this week at Riviera to keep from slipping in the mud.