A NEW WAY TO SKIN A FOURSOME.

Byline: GREGORY WILCOX GOLF

The 19th edition of the Skins Game, responsible for golf's postseason cash buffet at which the game's elite annually graze, could be the most entertaining.

And it's not because of the stellar field of Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Jesper Parnevik and defending champion Colin Montgomerie playing for $1 million, the biggest two-day purse in golf history.

The credit goes to someone with whom you're probably not familiar. That would be the wily Chuck Gerber, executive vice president and general manager of Regional Television for ESPN, Inc.

It's often been suggested the Skins Game, which lost some of its luster in recent years, would be more exciting if the four multi-millionaires played for their own dough.

That's against PGA Tour policy, though.

For this year's event, Gerber trumped that policy, and Woods, Norman, Parnevik and Monty will play for their own money.

A player winning a skin won't get the money unless he wins the following hole or ties the low score. If he doesn't, that money goes back into the pot. The rule does not apply to the 18th hole.

This is how Gerber and his pals play their regular skins game.

``The new rule is going to add drama to the event,'' Gerber said. ``It also makes it more likely to have the pot grow, which is something the fans enjoy.''

By applying this year's formula to last year's results - when the field was Monty, Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples and Vijay Singh - you get a different winner.

It starts with Couples, who's made a fortune in the postseason, winning the first hole and a $25,000 skin with a four-foot birdie putt. He loses that cash on the next hole when Garcia makes birdie and put $50,000 on the books.

Garcia keeps the cash by tying Singh with a par on the third hole.

The third hole's $50,000 skin carries over to the fourth and Monty wins it with a par and now holds $75,000.

On the sixth, a par five, he loses it when Singh and Couples birdie the hole.

This is a good example of why this format is more interesting. Monty dumps his second shot into a green-side bunker and his sand shot leaves him 40 feet from the pin. He picked up because it was obvious two players would make birdie. This year, he would have to try that long put to keep his money.

On the seventh hole, the pot would be $150,000 and the hole is tied with two pars. The eighth hole then would be worth $200,000 and Garcia puts the dough on hold with a birdie.

The ninth hole pot is $250,000. Singh makes a 12-foot eagle putt. Garcia, who needs three shots to reach the green, loses $200,000.

Singh goes to sleep with thoughts of $250,000 running through his head.

Sunday, he pars the 10th hole but kisses the cash goodbye when Garcia and Monty make birdie. That puts $350,000 on the table for the 11th hole, which Couples wins with a birdie.

On the 12th, he loses it when Garcia birdies from three feet and the chance to make $400,000 on the next hole. All four players make par on 13. Garcia banks his $400,000 and the carryover makes the 14th worth $140,000. That is carried over to the 15th, now worth $210,000 and Singh wins with a birdie.

He banks the cash on the 16th when everyone makes par. The pot on the 17th is carried over, too, making the last hole worth $340,000, which Monty eventually wins in a playoff.

Under this format, Garcia would have won last year with $450,000, followed by Montgomerie ($340,000) and Singh ($210,000), and Couples would have been skunked.

As it turned out, Monty won with $415,000 ahead of Singh ($260,000), Garcia ($200,000) and Couples ($125,000).

This year, maybe the accountants from PriceWaterhouseCoopers should do the color commentary.

ON THE GREEN

The Skins Game at Indio

Landmark Golf Club (7,068 yards, par 72)

Schedule: Saturday-Sunday

Purse: $1 million

TV: Channel 7 (Saturday, 1:30-4 p.m.; Sunday, 12:30-3 p.m.)

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ON THE GREEN (see text)