Missing golf balls Baddeley's only woe
Advertiser Staff
The only time anybody got the best of Aaron Baddeley yesterday was before he hit the course at Waialae Country Club.
The Sony Open in Hawai'i's 54-hole leader arrived at the clubhouse yesterday to discover someone had "taken a dozen and a half balls out of my locker, so I have to try to find some balls to use (today)," Baddeley said.
Baddeley said he usually keeps about two dozen balls and finished his round yesterday with "just a couple."
Asked if he suspected a souvenir hunter, Baddeley said: "If it was he's got more than a dozen of them (now)."
• Familiar faces: There are those who never seem far from Waialae Country Club's leaderboard.
Former Sony Open and Hawaiian Open champions appeared, disappeared and re-appeared on the boards yesterday. When the Kona winds finally subsided, Jeff Sluman (1999), Corey Pavin (1986-87) and Jerry Kelly (2002) led the unofficial former champions race at 7-under-par 203. They are tied for ninth.
Another shot back are John Cook (1992) and Jim Furyk (1996).
John Huston (1998) and Brad Faxon (2001) were the only former champs who shot over-par, at 71 and 74.
• More Sony: Sony Corporation and the PGA Tour signed an agreement last year that extends the Sony Open in Hawai'i until 2006. This is the first year of the deal and the purse is $4.5 million. By 2006, it will go up to $5.5 million.
The dates for the next three Sony Opens are: Jan. 15-18, 2004; Jan. 13-16, 2005 and Jan. 12-15, 2006.
That $4.5 million purse pays out to the top 90 finishers. Friday's cut came at even-par 140, with 77 players advancing to the weekend. The next 13 golfers make between $7,200 and $8,280. That group includes David Berganio, who missed a 34-inch putt Friday to get cut.
Today's winner gets $810,000 — $90,000 more than Jerry Kelly received a year ago.
SHORT PUTTS: Aaron Baddeley is trying to become the first player since Garrett Willis, in 2000, to win his first start as a PGA Tour member. Robert Gamez (1990) and Ben Crenshaw (1974) also won their first official tournaments. ... The youngest player to win a PGA Tour event was Johnny McDermott. He was 19 years and 10 months when he captured the 1911 U.S. Open. ... The ninth hole, which has been playing downwind this week, has now been the site of 42 eagles. There were nine more yesterday. ... In contrast the final hole, which is the only other par-5 in the Sony Open, has given up just seven eagles — none yesterday when it again played into the wind. ... Charles Howell III finished in the top 15 of his last four tournaments in 2002, getting his first victory and taking second in the Tour Championship. His streak of 16 consecutive rounds in the 60s ended when he shot even-par 73 in the opening round of the Mercedes Championships last weekend. He is 22-under par since. ... The field for next week's Phoenix Open was released yesterday and Baddeley is scheduled to play on a sponsor's exemption. His ranking was not good enough to get him into the 132-man field otherwise. A top-10 finish today would let him give the sponsor's exemption back. ... When Baddeley won the 2001 Greg Norman Holden International, his first-place check was $360,000 Australian. Asked how much that is in U.S. dollars, Baddeley grinned and said, "About $10." It actually works out to about $200,000. ... Briny Baird is the son of senior player Butch Baird. Briny was the NCAA Division II champion in 1994 and '95, when he played for Valdosta (Ga.) State. He has one top-10 finish in three years on tour. ... Ernie Els averaged 4.0 on the par-5 holes last week at Kapalua. He is averaging 4.0 again this week. His par on the 18th yesterday was the first time he hasn't at least birdied a par-5 here. Sergio Garcia is averaging 3.83. ... Baddeley's preferred meal is sushi with toro (fatty tuna) and unagi (eel) his favorites.
