Mason bests weather, field to take early lead
• Turtle Bay will return in '05
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| James Mason shot a 7-under-par 65, but several in the field of 39 were unable to finish the first round because of weather.
Tim Wright • Associated Press |
That's James Mason the 53-year-old golfer, not the late actor. This Mason never made a PGA Tour cut and calls cooking and farming hobbies. Until two years ago, his golf career was best described as that of a teaching pro in Georgia, where he was PGA section Player of the Year three times.
He won the 2002 NFL Golf Classic as a qualifier, which got him into this winners-only event. Mason finished 40th on the money list that year and 41st last year. He is a "partial qualifier" in 2004 and is limited to the number of events he can play.
That did not limit his golf yesterday. He hit all but one green in regulation during a bogey-free round of 7-under 65.
Mason missed two eagles by a combined total of less than two feet and started his season with a 25-foot birdie putt on the first green. He drained a three-footer on the final hole after waiting out a 1-hour, 36-minute weather delay brought on by thunder, lightning and very little rain.
Stewart Ginn, Jay Sigel, Jim Thorpe and Dave Eichelberger are a shot back. Doug Tewell finished the 13h hole at 6-under when play was stopped at 5:55 p.m. because of darkness.
The 12 players that did not finish go out this morning at 8. That group includes World Golf Hall of Famers Arnold Palmer (1-over), Hale Irwin (2-under), Lee Trevino (2-over), Jack Nicklaus (3-under), Tom Watson (1-over) and defending champion Dana Quigley (2-under).
The second round will start at 11:09 a.m. Those with yesterday's tickets will be allowed in free.
Only six golfers were over par when play stopped yesterday. With light Kona winds, Hualalai gave up birdies in abundance until the weather break. Mason, encouraged by a practice round with Quigley and Allen Doyle where he "didn't lose much money," cleaned up.
"I'm feeling more and more comfortable every round," Mason said. "Playing practice rounds with people like Doyle and Quigley makes you feel more comfortable."
Ginn was in the third group out and came in early with his bogey-free 66. He shot it with a new swing constructed in the offseason with coach Shane Wilding, who also caddies for Graham Marsh.
Wilding "took my swing to bits and put it back together again," according to Ginn.
"What I'd been taught in my whole life, all the devils that had been back there ... I'm completely in reverse from what I was taught," Ginn said.
The Australian's fourth-place finish here last year was his best of 2003. He says he "went walkabout" later in the season, losing his focus. "I did have a good tournament here and that's why I was a bit upset with myself when I finished the year," he said. "The first week was great and I had hopes and they just went out the door."
While most of the seniors were merely warming up last week, Eichelberger and Sigel were playing in tournaments.
Eichelberger, who moved to Honolulu last year, qualified for the Sony Open in Hawai'i, but didn't make the cut at Waialae Country Club.
"There have been times in my career when you just get it going sideways and you can't stop," he said. "That was one of those times."
He found Hualalai much more user-friendly. Yesterday he drained seven birdie putts from within 10 feet and added a 25-foot eagle putt that helped offset three bogeys.
Sigel made the cut in the New Zealand Open last week, after helping Bob Charles celebrate his retirement from golf in his homeland.
Sigel's 66 might as well have come in two different time zones. Sigel said when he got to the 16th hole, the wind was going left to right and the final two holes played downwind. When he came back after the delay, it was going right to left, then straight into his face.
"Unbelievable," Sigel said, after admitting he salvaged his round by making a five-foot par putt on the 18th. He had seven birdies and a bogey on the first 12 holes.
Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.
• • •
Turtle Bay and the PGA Tour yesterday announced a four-year extension of their agreement. The new deal will make the Turtle Bay Championship the first full-field Champions Tour event of the year and keep it on the North Shore through 2008.
The tournament was played in October the past three years — Hale Irwin won all three — but is not on the 2004 schedule. It will return Jan. 28-30, 2005, at Turtle Bay's Palmer Course.
Turtle Bay will follow the MasterCard Championship, which traditionally opens the senior season at Hualalai Golf Club on the Big Island. MasterCard is a limited-field event that brings in winners from the previous two years, major champions from the past five years, and up to four sponsor exemptions.
The Champions' schedule now mirrors that of the PGA Tour, which opens with the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua, then plays the full-field Sony Open in Hawai'i on O'ahu.
"We think starting here is great for our tour and certainly for the PGA Tour, and it's great for Hawai'i," Champions Tour president Rick George said. "It makes sense. It's consistent. There is a lot of synergy from a sponsor's standpoint and a fan's standpoint. Golf starts in Hawai'i."
Turtle Bay believes the new date will enhance its field — much as Mercedes has helped Sony — and improve TV ratings, particularly in places where Hawai'i's sunny skies are a welcome relief from sub-freezing temperatures outside. It also extends a sense of "synergy" with the regular tour, and gives Hawai'i all but a monopoly on the golf world in January.
"This creates an instant tradition," said John M. Dowd, Turtle Bay's' tournament chairman. "We've been here since Tuesday, talked to a lot people. They think the idea of coming over and not having to go back (to the Mainland) right away is great. ... They love it."
Turtle Bay also hopes the schedule change will help it find its first title sponsor, and encourage companies to bring in winners of their incentive contests, which commonly close in December. An added benefit is that the North Shore is traditionally less windy in the winter than the fall.
The dates are not in conflict with the Super Bowl the next three years.
The 2005 Champions Tour Skins Game could be played the Monday and Tuesday after Turtle Bay, tour president Rick George said Wednesday.
This year's Skins Game is next weekend at Wailea's Gold Course. Wendy's signed a one-year agreement as title sponsor. Wailea and ESPN have rights to the event through 2005.
SHORT PUTTS: Lightning hit around Hualalai about 2:40 p.m. yesterday and rain came five minutes later. The horn sounded, suspending play, at 3:04, with three groups finished. Play resumed at 4:40. ... It was the first weather delay in the eight years the tournament has been played on the Big Island. MasterCard's last weather interruption came in 1996 in Puerto Rico. ... Mastercard's contract with this week's tournament is good through 2008. Hualalai's deal goes through 2006. ... First prize this week is $268,000. The golfer who finishes 39th, or last, gets $10,750 of the $1.6 million purse. ... The Jan. 24 edition of Golfweek features four pictures across its cover. Sony Open in Hawai'i champion Ernie Els is on the left and Punahou freshman Michelle Wie is in the next three panels. Headline is: "Big Easy's tournament, Big Wiesy's show." ... Ten autographed photos of World Golf Hall of Fame members Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin and Tom Watson are up for auction on eBay. Proceeds go to the tournament charities. The picture was shot earlier this week at Hualalai's 18th tee. First bid was $250. All six are playing this week. ... Former Maui resident, and state open champion, Dick McClean played as a "marker" for J.C. Snead yesterday. Snead was the "odd man" in the 39-player field and teed off first alone. Snead shot 68.
