Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Tuesday, July 20, 1999

GOLF WATCH

Grand Slam sure
could use Tiger

IF you felt for the poor engraver who had to scratch Jean Van de Velde's name off the claret jug after he seemingly had the British Open won, imagine the food-and-beverage manager of Hyatt Regency Kauai, host site of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

"Hey," he might have said to his liquor wholesaler, "all those bottles of French wine I ordered? Forget it. Make it single-malt Scotch instead."

Thanks to his brain-lock at Carnoustie's 18th hole, where he squandered a three-stroke lead, Van de Velde won't be coming to the Poipu Bay Resort in November as the British Open champion.

Instead of a Frenchman, joining Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, the Masters champion, and U.S. Open winner Payne Stewart in the Grand Slam field, it'll be Scotland's Paul Lawrie.

Paul who?

Thanks to the worst French debacle since Waterloo, Lawrie won the British Open in as bizarre a finish as you'll ever see in a golf tournament.

Oh, well. Even if Lawrie hadn't won, we also would have been saying, "Jean who?'' had Van de Velde won. So what's the difference?

Vive le difference, really.

Lawrie might be a decent chap. But in terms of name recognition, he's not even a Jeff Sluman.

What? You wouldn't have heard of Sluman either if he hadn't won the Sony Open in Hawaii?

NOT that I can blame you. You don't hear too many youngsters going around and saying, "I'm Jeff Sluman."

The PGA Grand Slam needs a marquee name, and the closest to it of the three in the field so far is Stewart.

That's why I'm sure the PGA of America officials are pulling for Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship, the final major of the year, next month at Medinah.

A victory by Woods, qualifying him for the final spot, would give the PGA Grand Slam just the big name it sorely needs.

After all, it was Tiger who made last year's PGA Grand Slam the success it was. And he got in and won it as the first alternate because his good buddy, Mark O'Meara, won two of golf's four majors.

Should Olazabal, Stewart or Lawrie win the PGA Championship, then an alternate will be selected based on the best showing in this year's four majors by an active previous major championship winner.

Of the three, Stewart probably has the best chance of adding another major in 1999. Olazabal maybe.

But Lawrie? Maybe only if Van de Velde is leading by three strokes going into the final hole at Medinah. In other words, very unlikely.

ONLY twice in this decade has someone won two majors in a year. Besides O'Meara, Nick Price pulled off a double in 1994.

But the PGA of America is ready for such a scenario, including one naming the first alternate should Olazabal, Stewart or Lawrie pull of a double major.

After three majors so far, the top five alternates based on point standings (and how they fared) are:

1. Davis Love III, 228.3 points (Masters 2nd, U.S. Open T-12, British Open T-7).

2. Tiger Woods, 209.83 points (Masters T-18, U.S. Open T-3, British Open T-7).

3. Justin Leonard, 208.5 points (Masters T-18, U.S. Open T-15, British Open T-2).

4. Greg Norman, 166 points (Masters 3rd, U.S. Open missed cut, British Open 6th).

5. Nick Price, 151.5 points (Masters T-9, U.S. Open T-25, British Open T-37).

What a great list of alternates. But, clearly, Tiger's the one we all would want to see.