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Palmer and Nicklaus will lead the Americans in an international match play competition Nov. 16-18.
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 26, 2001
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- For Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, the UBS Warburg Cup is chance to feel the excitement of international match play golf. For senior tours around the world, the Ryder Cup-style event could be a welcome shot in the arm.
Nicklaus and Player are among the stars who will meet as 12-man teams from the United States take on a World squad. Six players on each team will be in their 40s and the rest at least 50, organizers said Wednesday.
Arnold Palmer will captain the U.S. team and Player will lead the international squad. The matches will be held Nov. 16-18 at The Ocean Course, the Pete Dye design that held 1991's "War at the Shore" Ryder Cup.
"Representing your country, going out in that type of format for a point every day, playing with your competitors as your partners, I haven't done that in 20 years," said Nicklaus, who last played in the Ryder Cup in 1981.
Player said matching stars in their 40s like Seve Ballesteros and Hal Sutton with older players like Isao Aoki and the 61-year-old Nicklaus could provide thrills and strategy.
"Wouldn't it be exciting when you have Jack playing against one of my stars in their 40s?" said Player, teasing a grumbling Nicklaus, who was within earshot. "Maybe we can put Jack off the red markers."
Nicklaus and Player spoke by phone from Newcastle, Northern Ireland, where they are preparing for the British Senior Open.
Player said showcasing senior-stars-to-be on the United States and international tours at the UBS Warburg Cup would boost all 50-and-older tours.
Ratings for the Senior PGA Tour broadcasts on CNBC are half what they were on ESPN last year and a third of what they were two years ago.
Nicklaus said the slump is cyclical and new senior players like Tom Watson and Tom Kite will turn things around.
The U.S. squad will include Palmer, Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Larry Nelson and Ray Floyd. The under-50 group will include Mark O'Meara and Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange.
Joining Player for the World team are Japan's Aoki and New Zealand's Frank Nobilo.
Members of the winning team will each earn $150,000 from the $3-million prize money. The losing team members take home $100,000. The Golf Channel will broadcast the matches.
"This is going to be one of golf's premier team events for years to come," Palmer said. "I'm excited about being a player captain."
Palmer and Player each will select three younger and three senior players.
The rest of the American team will be made up of leading players from the U.S. Senior PGA Tour, plus the top three golfers aged 40-49 in the world rankings.
There will be six foursome matches Nov. 16, six four-ball matches Nov. 17, and 12 singles matches Nov. 18.
UBS Warburg's Rory Tapner says the company has committed for five years and would like to see the event travel to sites worldwide.
"I haven't played in a team competition ... since the 1981 Ryder Cup," Nicklaus said. "It's totally different than playing as an individual. It develops a camaraderie that lasts a lifetime."
CHECK BAGS, NICKLAUS SAYS: Nicklaus thinks Ian Woosnam could have avoided a two-stroke penalty for carrying an extra club at the British Open by checking his bag more carefully. Nicklaus said the final responsibility for the number of clubs belongs to the player. "I don't fault Woosie. I have great sympathy for Ian and great sympathy for his caddy. It's just one of the things that happen ... there is nothing you can do," Nicklaus said. "But ultimately it's the player's responsibility."
TAMPA BAY CLASSIC: Charles Howell III is among early commitments expected to play in the tournament Sept. 13-16 at Westin Innisbrook Resort. Among other commitments are Andrew Magee, John Cook and Blaine McCallister.
GIRLS U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: Mallory Code of Tampa won twice at Mission Hills, Kan., to advance to the third round. Code defeated Stephanie Godare of Houston 3 and 1, then defeated Julieta Granada of Paraguay 4 and 3. Aree Wongluekiet of Bradenton lost to Aimee Cho of Orlando in 20 holes, then Cho lost 4 and 3 to Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, who at 13 is the youngest remaining player in the field. Pressel had qualified for the U.S. Women's Open.
U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR: James Vargas of Miami broke the event's qualifying record, taking medalist honors at 10-under-par 132 in San Antonio, Texas. Vargas shot 4-under 67 to break the match-play qualifying mark of 134 set by Sonny Nimkhum in 1999 at the Country Club of York (Pa.). Scotty Campbell of Conway, Ark., shot 70 to qualify second at 7-under 135. Colin Biles of Upper Arlington, Ohio; Eddie Lee of New Zealand; and Jonathan Moore of Portland, Ore., tied for third at 136.
CANADIAN PGA: Lorie Kane won the women's event for the fifth time, shooting a tournament-record 9-under 63 for a 10-stroke victory in Hamilton, Ontario. Kane, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, also set a tournament record with a 13-under 131 total on the Glendale Golf and Country Club course. A.J. Eathorne shot 72 to finish second.
LPGA EVENT RELOCATES: The Office Depot Championship, held this year at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, will relocate to El Caballero Country Club in suburban Tarzana in April 2002.