ALOHA, Ore. - Last year Peter Jacobsen was too young to play in the Tradition. This year he already has won a major on the Champions Tour as he readies for his debut in the tournament he helped bring to his home state.
Jacobsen won the U.S. Senior Open in St. Louis this month, his first victory on the 50-and-over circuit and first major title.
Today he forgoes defending his title at the PGA Tour's Buick Championship to play in the JELD-WEN Tradition at the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in the suburbs west of Portland.
"It is Portland," he said matter-of-factly. "It is my hometown."
The Tradition moved to Oregon last year after 14 years in Arizona. Jacobsen, who had hosted the popular Fred Meyer Challenge charity tournament for several years in Oregon, helped lure the tournament, and his sports management firm runs it. It is the tour's fifth and final major of the year.
PGA TOUR: The tournament that almost wasn't gets under way today in Cromwell, Conn., with a new name, a bigger purse and a wide-open field.
The Buick Championship, formerly the Greater Hartford Open, was in danger of extinction after 52 years until the car company rescued it last year. While tournament officials scrambled to keep the popular event going, the players weren't worried.
"The players take it for granted that it was just going to continue because we know what a great tournament it is," Kirk Triplett said. "The one thing this tournament has going for it and has always had going for it is tremendous support from the community."
But timing is everything, and sandwiched between the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, many of the biggest names on tour have taken a pass, including two-time champion Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
LPGA TOUR: The Wachovia LPGA Classic tees off today with a smaller purse, an uncertain future and no Annika.
Annika Sorenstam, the biggest star in women's golf, will skip the tournament for the sixth straight year, but the rest of the top money winners will compete at Berkleigh Country Club in Kutztown, Pa.
The tournament's three-year sponsorship agreement with Wachovia expires after this year's event. No sponsorship announcement will be made until next month, according to tournament officials, who are in negotiations with Wachovia to extend the deal.
EUROPEAN TOUR: The BMW International Open begins today in Nord Eichenried, Germany, and in the words of Sergio Garcia, "It's going to be a nerve-racking week for some of the guys."
That's because four spots plus two captain's picks are at stake for the European Ryder Cup team.
Paul McGinley was on the European squad that beat the Americans two years ago at the Belfrey in England. This weekend's event will be the Irishman's 10th straight tournament without a break, all in an attempt to pile up points.
"My destiny is in my hand," he said. "I win the tournament, I'm on the team."
Actually, McGinley and the three others who lead the race on the European list don't even need to be on the leaderboard. He, Ian Poulter, David Howell and Paul Casey just have to make the cut.
