Champions Tour opener down to 37
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Morris Hatalsky withdrew from this week's season-opening MasterCard Championship at Hualalai Golf Club because of a family matter. The field in the elite event is now 37, including Hilo High graduate Steve Veriato.
A field of 36 qualified for the Champions Tour opener by winning a tournament in the past two years or a major in the last five. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer received exemptions as winners of at least 30 events.
Along with Hatalsky, Don Pooley (shoulder injury) and Raymond Floyd (family commitment) also could not play.
Trevino warmed up last weekend at Wailea by defeating Hale Irwin, Nicklaus and Palmer in the ConAgra Foods Champions Skins Game.
Trevino is making a record 11th appearance in this tournament of champions. He had shared the record with George Archer before this year. Irwin is playing in his eighth consecutive MasterCard Championship, the longest current string.
This is the first of 31 official tour stops, worth $52 million, this year. The tour will expand its full-field events from 78 to 81 players with the addition of a PGA Tour Career Victory category.
New faces this year include Andy Bean, who will turn 50 in March, Craig Stadler (June) and Jerry Pate (September).
College-Am openings
There are still openings for golfers who would like to play in the University of Hawai'i-Hilo's Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate Golf Tournament College-Am. It will be Feb. 11 at Waikoloa Kings' Course.
The tournament runs Feb. 12-14 at Waikoloa's Kings' and Beach courses. It features 26 teams, including UH and UH-Hilo, Arizona State, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, Nagoya of Japan, Pepperdine, Stanford, Houston and Oklahoma.
College-Am teams will be made up of four amateurs and two college players. Past participants in the Intercollegiate include Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Bob May, Jim Furyk, Notah Begay and Casey Martin.
For information, call 961-5252 ext. 17, or 974-7493 on the Big Island.
Hawai'i Pearl Open sets clinic
Pearl Country Club Director of Golf David Ishii and head pro Kevin Hayashi will be among the teachers at a free clinic at 4 p.m. Wednesday. It will kick off the 25th anniversary of the Hawai'i Pearl Open.
The $80,000 tournament will be next Friday-Sunday (Feb. 7-9). It features a 192-player field of American and Japanese pros and amateurs, including 13-year-old Michelle Wie. Defending champion Kiyoshi Murota and inaugural champion Namio Takasu, who is now 59, will also play.
Approximately 40 golfers will try to qualify for the final eight spots Tuesday morning at Pearl. The Pro-Am is Feb. 6. There will be a demo day during Sunday's final round, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Three pros earn regional award
Jerry King, Chuck Larson and Kevin Ralbovski are among the Top Teachers in the West Region, according to an article in the February Golf magazine.
Hawai'i, Nevada and California are in the region. The magazine lists nearly 500 instructors across the U.S. and Canada.
King is Head Teaching Professional at the Kapalua Golf Academy. Larson works out of Hickam Mamala Bay and Ralbovsky is a pro at Waialae Country Club.
Shops honored
Hualalai Club Shop on the Big Island, Ko Olina on O'ahu and Wailea Golf Club on Maui are included in Golf World Business's "100 Best Golf Shops."
This is the 18th consecutive year the list has been compiled. It will be in the Feb. 7 issue of Golf World.
The list is based on the shops' merchandising, sales, initiatives and promotions.
2003 MasterCard Championship tee times
At Hualalai Golf Club, Big Island
Tomorrow's first-round pairings and tee times
11 a.m.—Graham Marsh (Perth, Australia) and Bruce Liezke (Dallas)
11:09—Larry Nelson (Marietta, Ga.) and Bob Gilder (Corvallis, Ore.)
11:18—Walter Hall (Bermuda Run CC, N.C.) and Bruce Fleisher (The Cliffs Community, S.C.)
11:27—Jack Nicklaus (North Palm Beach, Fla.) and Isao Aoki (Tokyo)
11:36—Jose Maria Canizares (Valderrama Golf Club, Spain)
11:45—Gary Player (Marshall Ranch, Texas) and Jay Sigel (Berwyn, Pa.)
11:54—Tom Kite (Austin, Texas) and Arnold Palmer (Bay Hill, Fla.)
12:03 p.m.—Sammy Rachels (DeFuniak Springs, Fla.) and Lee Trevino (Dallas)
12:12—Jim Colbert (Big Horn CC, Calif.) and Fuzzy Zoeller (Naples, Fla.)
12:21—Ed Dougherty (Linwood, Pa.) and Gil Morgan (Edmond, Okla.)
12:30—Leonard Thompson (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) and J.C. Snead (Hot Springs, Va.)
12:39—Doug Tewell (Edmond, Okla.) and Hubert Green (Panama City Beach, Fla.)
12:48—Jim Thorpe (Heathrow, Fla.) and Hale Irwin (Hokulia, Hawai'i)
12:57—Dana Quigley (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Stewart Ginn (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
1:06 p.m.—Dave Eichelberger (New Canaan, Conn.) and James Mason (Dillard, Ga.)
1:15—Steve Veriato (Buda, Texas) and Tom Jenkins (Austin, Texas)
1:24—Allen Doyle (LeGrange, Ga.) and Bobby Wadkins (Richmond, Va.)
1:33—Tom Watson (Westwood, Kan.) and John Schroeder (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
1:42—Mike McCullough (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and John Jacobs (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
