It Won’t Be a Challenge to Cash In at Sherwood

They are bringing down the curtain this week at the Williams World Challenge, with Tiger Woods the host at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, the 48th and last officially sanctioned event on the PGA Tour this year. How do you celebrate this occasion?

Has to be the usual way: “Gentlemen, start your cash registers.”

There are 18 players in the field and every one is guaranteed to make at least $130,000--that’s last place--from the $4.1-million purse. The winner gets $1 million. With five players receiving special invitations, the moral is that it’s good to be friendly with Tiger. (Note: You don’t see Phil Mickelson here, do you?)

These days, professional golf makes a seamless transition from one year to the next, which is what happens when there are exactly 17 days between the last round of 2001 and the first round of 2002. As a result, the players can use what happens in late tournaments, like the Williams, as a springboard into the early tournaments of 2002. Davis Love III, who won last year at Sherwood, knows the facts well. He calls the Williams “spring training” for the next year. Love followed up his victory at Sherwood with four top 10s in his first six tournaments this year, including a victory at Pebble Beach and a runner-up at Torrey Pines, where he lost to Mickelson in a playoff. His victory at Pebble came after Love hadn’t won in more than three years.

Tom Lehman won the first Williams World Challenge in 1999, then began 2000 with three top 10s in a row, including a victory at Phoenix, his first in almost four years.

There’s no telling who is going to come out on top Sunday, but at least one thing is for sure. He’s going to be a lot richer.

Ty One On

Speaking of new millionaires, let’s take a quick look at Mr. Million-Dollar Endorsement, Ty Tryon. Who is the happiest about the 17-year-old Tryon, pro golf’s newest Wonder Boy?

Would it be Callaway Golf, which signed him to a club deal ... or Target and Mossimo, which signed him to a bag and clothing deal ... or IMG, which represents him? You probably would have to say IMG. After taking a few shots about not signing the best young talent (see Charles Howell, David Gossett, Matt Kuchar, Bryce Molder, Jeff Quinney, Aaron Baddeley), IMG might have landed the big one in Tryon. At least that’s the way IMG is spinning it, and with good reason.

“He’s certainly an unbelievable talent in a generation where there’s an unbelievable amount of talent,” said Alastair Johnston, head of IMG’s golf division.

Tryon’s endorsement deals were incentive-based, but it looks as if he’s going to cash in because he qualified for the 2002 PGA Tour and earned his card. Sort of. Tryon can’t be an official member until June, when he turns 18, as a result of a month-old rule that prevents anyone younger than 18 from being a full-time PGA Tour pro.

That means that Tryon can’t play a full schedule until June and will be limited to seven sponsor’s exemptions. However, it does not mean that once he turns 18, the money he won up to then won’t be counted as official money. As soon as Tryon is 18, his prior earnings are official, so it may be that the only real drawback to the age rule is that he probably won’t be playing as much as he--or the fans--might like. And that’s the part that Johnston has trouble with.

“It’s a disappointment. I think the tour missed a real opportunity to embrace a constituency--they’re missing high school kids.”

Actually, it’s only the most recent time the tour missed the boat in a public relations sense. Remember Casey Martin?

Check the PGA Tour scorecard: It’s against the handicapped, against teens and it’s certainly against the seniors if you go by what it did to the Senior Tour last year.

More Ty

Armed with the chance for sponsor’s exemptions into seven tournaments, don’t be surprised to see Tryon play at Riviera in the Nissan Open.

“We would be very much looking forward to having him come out,” tournament director Tom Pulchinski said. “If he’s interested.”

He should be. In 1992, a 16-year-old from Cypress named Tiger got his first sponsor’s exemption into a pro event at the Nissan L.A. Open.

Senior Moment

News item: In an effort to make the Senior PGA Tour more exciting next year, most tournaments will be carried on live television.

Reaction: Wow, what are they going to think of next? Keeping score? Using tees?

Reaction II: Actually, there were a couple of great ideas, such as miking the players and dropping the ropes behind the last group so the fans could follow along.

Mr. Duty Free

The Frequent Flier Award goes to none other than Colin Montgomerie, who in the last three weeks has been in the Skins Game in Indio, the Sun City tournament in South Africa and now Woods’ tournament at Thousand Oaks.

Now we know why Montgomerie never joined the PGA Tour. He’s busy playing the World Tour.

Who voted?

They’re kidding, right? In Golf World’s Newsmakers of the Year, the Ryder Cup postponement is No. 1 (no argument there), but Mickelson is second and Woods is third. Tiger won more money and won a major, so ... just forget it. This isn’t even worth debating. David Toms should be rated higher than Mickelson.

Part II: In a CNN/SI poll this week, Annika Sorenstam was voted as golf’s player of the year over Woods. At least you can debate this one. Sorenstam shot a 59, won a major and seven other times. Woods won a major and four other times.

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Facts

* What: Williams World Challenge.

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks.

* TV: TNT today and Friday, Channel 4 Saturday and Sunday.