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Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

GOLF WATCH

Remarkable start to
2000 golf season MY all-time favorite sportswriter, the late Red Smith, used to say that "Baseball is dull only to those with dull minds."

With apologies to Red, I'd like to rephrase his quote a bit: "Golf is dull only to those with dull minds."

With Tiger Woods beating Ernie Els in a dramatic sudden-death finish in the Mercedes Championship and Paul Azinger finally winning a PGA tournament after his comeback from cancer, golf fans here and on national prime-time television enjoyed two remarkable stories.

You have to be a dullard not to have enjoyed watching both golf tournaments. I know ESPN sure lucked out, showing both events on prime time back in the East Coast.

The PGA Tour couldn't have asked for a better start to its 2000 season with those back-to-back tournaments.

All that and heaven - Hawaii with the gorgeous scenery from Kapalua and Waialae - too.

When the PGA Tour decided to open its season in Hawaii with the Mercedes Championships and the Sony Open, little did it know it'd be a rousing success in terms of excitement and heart-warming storylines the past two weeks.

"If you were trying to script it, you couldn't have up with a better ending to both tournaments," said Mark Rolfing, events chairman for the Hawaii Tourism Authority and golf analyst for NBC-TV.

"Mercedes had one of the most exciting finishes in golf. Two tied for the lead going to the last hole and both made eagles. The excitement level was phenomenal. And you had the best player in the world winning the tournament."

THEN you come over to Waialae and Paul Azinger wins his first tournament in six years since coming back from cancer, Rolfing added.

"You could ask 100 guys who they wanted to win, if they couldn't, and most of them, if not all, would say Azinger.

"For him to have done it in the final round the way he did was remarkable. Everyone's thinking, 'I hope nothing goes wrong and Azinger plays his A-Game.' "

PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem wasn't at the Sony Open. But he praised Kapalua for its ambience and was thrilled by the playoff duel between Woods and Els.

Thanks to that stirring finish to the Mercedes Championships and the drama if Tiger can make it five straight victories, the overnight ratings set a golf-programming record for ESPN.

And the cable network again couldn't have asked for a more heart-tugging story than Azinger's victory in the Sony Open.

Clearly, the PGA Tour can't help but be delighted that the Hawaii events have two title sponsors - Mercedes and Sony - which are among the most recognized A-list companies in the world.

WITH their victories, Woods kept his lead as No. 1 in the world rankings and Azinger returned to the top 50 at No. 43, qualifying him for the Andersen World Golf Championship.

For Hawaii fans, Azinger's victory also qualified him for the 2001 Mercedes Championships. He hadn't played in the Tournament of Champions since winning the PGA Championship in 1993.

Can we be lucky enough and see another great golf story when the Senior PGA Tour opens its season with the Mastercard Championship this weekend at Hualalai?

Wouldn't be it be quite a story if Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson wins it?

Three times' a charm. So don't bet against it happening.