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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 16, 2003

Tryon juggles books, birdies

Sony Open
 •  Pavin's, Stadler's teams win
 •  Sony Open in Hawai'i tee times

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist

Like the other PGA Tour professionals at the Sony Open in Hawai'i this week, Ty Tryon is penning a lot of autographs.

Unlike any of the other 143 entrants, he is also writing a book report for homework.

When you're 18 and the youngest player ever to earn a Tour card, one minute you're reading the greens for a money putt and the next you're liable to be nose deep in reading "Lord of the Flies" for school.

When you're pursuing the dual paths of pro golf and high school graduation, you pack your homework assignments and books along with your golf clubs.

The future of golf, as 13-year-old Michelle Wie's every booming drive reminds us, is getting younger all the time. And the present, as Tryon's peach fuzz presence at Waialae Country Club for today's opening round underlines, is remarkably young already.

In most years we'd be talking about 23-year-olds Matt Kuchar and Charles Howell III, and 24-year-olds Jonathan Byrd and Luke Donald, all of whom won PGA events last year, as the "kids" on Tour.

But, compared to William Augustus Tryon IV, who only recently became eligible to vote and subject to conscription, they are among the PGA's decorated veterans.

Ty Tryon has a golf game and composure well beyond his 18 years. The high school senior from Phillips High in Orlando, Fla., is here to compete with his fellow PGA pros in the Sony Open in Hawai'i at Waialae Country Club.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

WHAT: Full-field PGA Tour event

WHERE: Waialae Country Club (35-35i70, 7,060 yards)

WHEN: Today through Sunday; 7:20 a.m. today and tomorrow, 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

PURSE: $4.5 million ($810,000 first prize)

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jerry Kelly (14-under 266). Kelly won his first PGA Tour title, beating John Cook by a stroke.

ADMISSION: $15 daily. Children 12-under free with adult ticket holder. Season badge is $50 for entire week.

INFORMATION: 523-7888 or online.

TV: ESPN (today, 1:30 p.m.; tomorrow, 2 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.).

It has fallen to Tryon, who was named after Chevy Chase's character "Ty Webb" in the movie "Caddyshack," to take the brunt of the good-natured ribbing about his youth. With blond locks flowing from beneath and curling around his Callaway cap, hardly a round goes by without Tryon being reminded this is the conservative PGA Tour, not Phillips High in Orlando, Fla.

During Tuesday's Pro-Junior Golf Challenge, some of the pros offered to chip in for a more Tour-correct haircut. "We're jealous," said 43-year-old Tom Lehman, who is the same age as Tryon's father, Bill. "I've got no hair left."

While the sports world tries to make up its mind what to make of LeBron James, the high school basketball star soon to be an NBA pro, Tryon putts along, pushing golf's frontiers wherever he goes.

At age 7 he had his first session with a stroke guru. Soon after, Tryon said, he knew he wanted to be a pro golfer — he just never imagined it would come before college.

With a 66 under the pressure of the final day at Qualifying School, Tryon earned his PGA card in 2001 at age 17, while still a junior in high school. And, thanks to his first six figures in endorsements, he had a Lexus about the time his driver's license photo dried.

One year, Tryon was playing on the same high school team as Jason Cook and Cameron Hoch. Less than a year later, he was playing against their fathers, John Cook and Scott Hoch, for prize money.

By 18 he was already making his mark, legislatively if not always on the course. The PGA adopted a "Ty Rule," limiting the number of tournaments a player can appear in before turning 18 and how winnings would be measured.

Despite an illness — which severely limited his first-year play in 2002 to a handful of appearances and $8,620 in prize money — Tryon managed to make PGA history. "Most of the (medical) exemptions we give are for back injuries, shoulder injuries, the regular injuries," said Andy Pazder of the PGA. "I think I can safely say he (Tryon) is the first one we've given for mononucleosis and tonsillitis."

The exemption, it has been pointed out, now makes it possible that if Tryon has a good enough year, he could contend for both the PGA Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year honors.

What's more amazing about one for whom notoriety has come so swiftly is how Tryon seems to deal with it. Gracious with autograph seekers, respectful of his seniors and focused in his play, there is a beyond-the-years maturity and down-to-earth reality to go along with an extraordinary game.

"I played with him in a tournament two years ago on a Sunday, after he had made the cut, and he was like five under through 10 holes or something," Lehman recalled. "I was thinking, 'Holy smoke, this kid can play.' "

Lehman added, "I wasn't so much just impressed with his game, though that was impressive enough, but with his poise. A couple of things happened along the back nine that would have rattled a lot of guys and he overcame them. I remember telling my wife, 'he's the real deal and we're going to be seeing more of him someday.' "

Beginning with the Sony Open, the golf world might, too.