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Golf
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 8, 2003
MIAMI -- Thomas Levet is best known for having lost in a four-man aggregate playoff to Ernie Els at last year's British Open.
Levet bogeyed the 18th hole at Muirfield twice in the playoff, first in the four-hole aggregate, then in the sudden-death duel with Els, who parred to hoist the Claret Jug.
Levet took advantage of his high finish and earned a PGA Tour card for this year, and he plans to play more than 20 events. That's not easy for a member of the PGA European Tour who plans to keep his playing privileges there, too.
A Frenchman, Levet is playing his sixth event this year in the United States, but has not heard any negative comments from fans who might be upset with his country's stance on a war with Iraq.
"I think it's normal because your president is trying to get to war with Iraq to stop them from nuclear weapons and all of that and the French president has a different opinion," said Levet, whose 2-over 74 left him seven strokes behind leader Bob Tway at the Ford Championship at Doral. "I'm only a sportsman. I try to do my job. It's politics, not sport.
"The spectators are fine. That's what I like in America. People are going to the game because they want to see sport and they want to see a good show."
JACK PACKS: Jack Nicklaus missed the cut by three shots and he won't be satisfied with consecutive rounds of 73. But his 146 beat some 30 players. Not bad for a 63-year-old.
Nicklaus would not commit to next month's Masters, which would be his 44th, until he visits Augusta National "and see if my golf game will allow me to shoot a decent score, and I don't know if I can do that right now.
"If I had to make an odds-on guess right now, I would say that I probably won't play. But if you had asked me two weeks ago if I would ply at Doral, I would have said no way."
ODDS AND ENDS: David Duval's troubles continue. Duval finished with four consecutive bogeys to shoot 80 and miss the cut. Duval has missed three cuts in five events and his best finish, a tie for 33rd, is misleading. He lost in the first round of the Match Play Championship. ... Eighty-six made the 36-hole cut at 143, 1 under.