Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
After years of absence, many top players return to Doral because of changes to the track and its place on the schedule.
By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 28, 2002
MIAMI -- The name has changed, but the tournament's legacy appears intact.
Now named the Genuity Championship but commonly known as Doral, the tournament that kicks off the PGA Tour's Florida swing begins this morning with enthusiasm missing in recent years.
Not since 1998, before the advent of the World Golf Championship events, has the field been as good as the one that tees off this morning at the Doral Resort's "Blue Monster" course.
Perhaps it is more than a coincidence, but '98 was the only time Tiger Woods had appeared in the tournament.
Even before Woods committed to play this week, the tournament had its best field in years. Eight of the top 10 in the World Ranking are here, including Woods and David Duval. Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen are missing.
Two years ago, on the heels of the Match Play Championship in California, the tournament attracted one player in the top six and 11 of the top 30. A longtime staple on the PGA Tour had been relegated to also-ran status.
But with a $4.7-million purse ($846,000 to the winner), a course that has been softened after a redesign flopped and with the first major championship next month, Doral again is among the elite.
"The golf course is fantastic, and Genuity's sponsorship of this tournament raised it to where it was 10 years ago," defending champion Joe Durant said. "They have really made an effort to make this a premier event. And everybody is trying to get prepared for the Masters, the Players Championship, so it's a great place on the schedule, too. You put those things together and it makes for a great event."
Of course, it never hurts to have Woods in the field. The world's No. 1 player decided to add Doral when an illness forced him to skip the Nissan Open in Los Angeles two weeks ago. After he got bounced in the first round of the Match Play Championship last week it became even more important to play.
That was great news for Genuity tournament director Tom Neville, who made practice round and pro-am tickets free but would have had no trouble selling them with Woods in the field. He expects crowds of 50,000 per day this weekend if Woods is in contention.
"I know a few years ago, they had a hard time filling the field," 10-time tour winner and University of Florida graduate Mark Calcavecchia said. "Everybody used to kind of think of this as where their season starts, the push for the Masters. ... It's always been one of my favorite places to play."