[ GOLF ]
Turtle Bay extended,
rescheduled
KA'UPULEHU-KONA, HAWAII >> The Turtle Bay Championship, missing from this year's Champions Tour schedule, will be back next year.
The PGA Tour and the Turtle Bay Resort announced yesterday a four-year extension, through 2008, of the 54-hole tournament.
"The PGA did a lot of work to make this happen," said Turtle Bay Resort Tournament Chairman John Dow yesterday.
But instead of its customary date in October, the 54-hole senior circuit championship will be moved to Jan. 24-30 next year, a week after the 2005 MasterCard Championship at the Hualalai Golf Club at Ka'upulehu-Kona
"Moving the date of the Turtle Bay Championship will have a very positive effect on this event," said Champions Tour President Rick George. "Similar to the PGA Tour's Mercedes Championship/Sony Open model, this new scheduling scenario will do several good things for the Turtle Bay event. We anticipate the field will be stronger, television viewership up and the tournament will gain more media focus.
"The PGA Tour/Champions Tour 'Aloha Season' will also be positively impacted given the closer alignment of both tours' Hawaii events falling during this time frame," he added.
"We thank Turtle Bay for their continued commitment and support of the Champions Tour."
The idea to move the Turtle Bay Championship after the MasterCard event seems sensible.
Instead of having the 50-and-over group make two trips to Hawaii, they can choose to make it an extended vacation, of sorts, by staying for two weeks and both events.
"We should see a significant increase in the quality of our field," Dow said.
"Players are already talking about the two weeks that will start the 2005 season in Hawaii," he added.
"The television appeal and ratings of the event should increase as most of mainland USA is in the depths of winter."
Added Turtle Bay Director of Golf Matt Hall: "We anticipate that many of the previous year's winners will take the short flight over to Oahu to enjoy an additional week of competitive golf, significant purses and the aloha spirit of the North Shore. The four straight weeks of broadcast tournament golf in Hawaii will more firmly establish these beautiful islands as a premier world golf destination."
Making noise: Visitors and residents on the west side of the Big Island were awakened at around 3 a.m. yesterday by the violent sounds of thunder and lightning.
However, the inclement weather and rain that fell overnight didn't put a damper on J.C. Snead, who was first off the tee at 11:09 yesterday morning. Still, it was overcast for most of the day, with temperatures hovering between 75 and 80 with winds coming from the west 5-15 mph.
A pool of money: The team headed by pro Don Pooley finished with a net 48 to win Thursday's pro-am.
Pooley, who qualified for this year's MasterCard Championship by winning the 2002 U.S. Senior Open, pocketed $500 for his efforts.
Finishing in a tie for second at 50 and winning $350 each were Bob Gilder, Wayne Levi and Graham Marsh. Jim Thorpe and Doug Tewell won $225 apiece for finishing in a tie for fifth.
Another Mickelson joins PGA: It seems there is going to be more than one Mickelson on the PGA Tour.
Tina Mickelson, younger sister of Phil Mickelson, made her television debut yesterday as part of the broadcasting crew at the Golf Channel.
Tina Mickelson has been a teaching pro since 1991 and has authored a syndicated golf tips column. She also serves as a golf analyst for one of the largest all-sports radio stations in the U.S.
She joins booth announcers Jim Kelly and Frank Nobilo, on-course reporter Mark Lye, local TV analyst Mark Rolfing and post-round interviewer Tom Nettles.
Long live the king: 2004 marks the 50th year as a professional for the legendary Arnold Palmer.
Palmer, who turns 75 on Sept. 10, has won more than 90 tournaments around the world. He made his debut in the 1954 Miami Open and pocketed $696 for finishing in a tie for 10th.
Tour gets bigger: Two new tournaments were added to the Champions Tour schedule.
The First Tee Open is set for the last week of August (Aug. 30-Sept. 5) at the Bayonet Golf Club and Pebble Beach Golf Links, while the Champions Tour at Augusta Pines will be held at Augusta Pines Golf Club in Spring, Texas, on Oct. 4-10.