Golf

Majors jam on cart path

By BOB HARIG
Published February 13, 2007

The Champions Tour is the only sports league where "rookies" often have more impressive resumes than the veterans they expect to compete against. And it is the beauty of the 50-and-older circuit that allows those with Hall of Fame credentials - or plaques - to play at the highest level. This new blood also offers a nice marketing platform for the tour, which needs the stars of yesterday to be rejuvenated at 50 and win again. Not all have bought into the concept. Jack Nicklaus never played in more than a handful of Champions Tour events a year. Greg Norman has yet to play a regular Champions Tour event. This year, however, the tour is banking on a slew of well-known stars to give it a nice jolt. No fewer than seven past major championship winners are eligible for AARP benefits and carts on the Champions Tour. Two of them, Nick Price and Mark O'Meara, will be in the field at this week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at the TPC of Tampa Bay. Here is a rundown of the Significant Seven and their prospects.

Mark O'Meara

Tiger Woods' buddy who won the Masters and British Open in 1998 seemed to be holding on in recent years, failing to finish among the top 125 for four straight seasons. Still he won a European event three years ago and made the cut three weeks ago at the Buick Invitational, his last PGA Tour event. Like Price, he is expected to be a factor.

Seve Ballesteros

Nothing would be better for the Champions Tour than Ballesteros producing any semblance of the magic that used to emanate from his clubs. The problem is, that would appear to be a stretch. Ballesteros, who turns 50 in April, said he plans to compete often on the Champions Tour. But the Spaniard's game has been missing for most of this decade due to injuries. He played just twice last year. Still, he showed flashes of that brilliant short game at last year's British Open. We can only hope.

Nick Faldo

How great would it be to have Ballesteros and Faldo dueling like the old days? And throw in Norman for good measure? It's not going to happen because TV's gain is the Champions Tour's loss. Faldo, who turns 50 in July, has a full schedule with the Golf Channel and CBS. He figures to be so busy that the three-time Masters champion won't even tee it up at Augusta. He plans to make the British Open his first event of the year. And next year, Faldo is the European Ryder Cup team captain. It's a nice thought, but Faldo sightings in competition will be rare.

Wayne Grady

Who? This Australian doesn't figure to sell a lot of tickets, but he did win the 1990 PGA Championship and a handful of international titles. He turned into a journeyman and was more or less off the tour by 2000, when he began dabbling in television for the BBC and running the Australasian Tour. Grady turns 50 in July but any kind of Champions Tour success will likely be met with a yawn.

Bernhard Langer

The two-time Masters champion from Germany doesn't turn 50 until August, so he plans to seek sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour. (He's playing in next month's PODS Championship at Innisbrook.) Although he had a tough year in 2006, the 2004 European Ryder Cup captain should win his share.

Jeff Sluman

The 1988 PGA champion doesn't turn 50 until September, so he will have to wait until next year to do his damage. And he will likely clean up. Sluman, who is also playing in the PODS Championship, has never finished worse than 93rd on the PGA Tour money list since 1985. And last year, he had four top 10s and won more than $1.2-million.

Nick Price

The three-time major winner played his first Champions event last week and tied for 20th at the Allianz Championship. Price, who won the PGA in 1992 and '94 and the British in '94, said he is looking forward to competing again after two mostly miserable seasons on the PGA Tour. One of the game's best ball-strikers, Price's success will depend on his ability to putt: his lone shortcoming in an 18-win career. Still, he stayed competitive in his late 40s, and he is expected to be a force.

[Last modified February 12, 2007, 23:43:37]