Maltbie Confounds Himself With a 70

He’s 53, overweight, hasn’t played a tournament since November, played twice all last year, didn’t play a practice round, and didn’t start getting ready for the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am until two weeks ago. But after Roger Maltbie shot a two-under-par 70 Thursday at Pebble Beach, he knew why.

“Never confuse luck for brains, pal,” he said.

Maltbie, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, is playing for the 30th time here and hinted it could be his last, even after surprising himself with his opening-round score.

“Confused, unimagined,” he said. “I go months at a time without playing golf. You could ask anyone at San Jose Country Club.”

To prepare himself for the tournament, Maltbie went to a physical fitness center that had a gym and a training section.

Said Maltbie: “I didn’t want anything to do with the gym, but I did need to get stretched out.”

Maltbie, who works about 20 weekends a year on NBC’s golf telecasts, has played here every year except one since 1975.

“If they invite me back, it might be hard to say no, but on the other hand, 30 is a nice number,” he said. “That’s a long time to play a tournament.”

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There could be a change in the name of the AT&T; tournament once SBC’s takeover of AT&T; is completed in mid-2006, but it appears Nissan is losing no interest in staying on as title sponsor of the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.

John Gill, who is in charge of Nissan’s sponsorship deals, said he expects to have talks about extending the company’s title sponsorship of the event soon after next week’s event is over.

“We’ve had preliminary conversations about extending through 2010 and I think that’s the target,” Gill said.

Nissan’s three-year contract as title sponsor lasts through 2006, which is also when the PGA Tour’s four-year, $850-million television contract expires.

Gill also said that the Nissan Open’s purse, which is $4.8 million, is likely to increase in a new sponsorship deal in conjunction with a new tour TV deal, but said any increase would be minor.

“I don’t know if it has to be too high. We’ve got a great golf course and the players want to play. I don’t see a need to be a leader in purses.”

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Mark Brooks, who missed the cut at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and at Phoenix, said he is trying to correct a swing flaw after injuring his back last season. Despite his problems, the 1996 PGA champion is looking forward to tackling Riviera next week.

“I’ll tell you, though, that place is 500 yards longer than when I started playing there,” he said. “And I don’t hit the ball 500 yards longer than I used to.”

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Peter Jacobsen’s tournament lasted five holes. Playing with singer Huey Lewis, Jacobsen twisted his right knee at Poppy Hills and couldn’t walk. Jacobsen, the 1995 winner here, left Thursday afternoon to have his knee checked by an orthopedic specialist.