CYBERSPACE CATCHES UP TO PGA TOUR : THIS WEEK PGA TOUR PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

The PGA Tour is now within easy reach of golf fans who have a personal computer, a modem, access to the World Wide Web and an E-mail address, thanks to some Southern California Webmasters.

They've set up a golf version of a baseball rotisserie league.

And they promise that theirs will be easier to play than reaching a par five in two shots.

It's sort of like being able to play the tour in cyberspace.

And it's free.

The league was put together by some golf enthusiasts at NetWorks, a division of Torrance-based Envision Group, a company that specializes in Website development. Envision's clients include American Isuzu Motors, Mazda Motors of America, Coast Federal Bank, Aerial Communications, United States Cellular and Carls Jr.

They are motivated by profits, as well as keeping track of pros.

In what's become the norm on both the Web and the PGA Tour, NetWorks is selling advertising on the Web Page to companies involved in the golf business.

That way they may make some money and will be able to offer prizes to participants, explains Mike Hall, a NetWorks account executive working on the project.

The Web site went on-line Jan. 1, and so far about 1,000 players have signed up, he said.

``We're just trying to get the word out that we are up. The more people we can get to sign up the better the prizes will be and the more interested sponsors will be,'' Hall said.

The sign-up form asks for demographic information like age, income range, golf equipment used, publications read and the kind of cars in the household.

Hall said this information will be used to let advertisers know what kind of audience they would be reaching. But players don't have to include it.

The fantasy golf league can be played by individuals or groups of 20 or more.

Here's how it works:

Players draft their own team of 10 PGA Tour pros and keep them for the season. You compete against other teams worldwide for points and prizes.

One hundred tour players were broken down into groups of 10, basically depending on their status on tour. The top group naturally includes Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Fred Couples.

Players draft their own teams, picking a golfer from each group.

If you pick a team that already has been chosen, a prompt will tell you to make another choice until your team is complete.

Points are awarded to players whose team members finish in the top 24 on a basis of 150 for first place to two points for 24th. Ties are decided in much the same way money is split up in the case of this eventuality on tour.

For example, second place is worth 100 points, and if three pros tie for second, each player with that pro gets 100 points. Next in line gets fifth-place points.

Hey, golf is a numbers game.

There are 37 weekly events, four segment events and one full season event. It begins with the Doral Ryder Open on March 6 and ends with The Tour Championship on Nov. 2.

Breaking things down into a weekly, segment and season basis enables players to get in the game at any time during the season.

The segment events last about two months and cover nine tournaments.

Team points are tallied after each week's tournament and posted on Tuesdays.

Prizes will be handed out starting with the Doral event. They include golf shirts and equipment, among other things.

The game's Web site also includes links to other golfing sites.

If you want to play, just point your browser to http://www.TourGolf.com. Then just click your way onto the tour.

Big woods for Woods: Tiger Woods is the tour's driving distance leader, averaging 302.7 yards after seven rounds. That's 11.2 yards farther than Michael Bradley, who is currently in second place.

And he's already vaulted into eighth on the points list for the Ryder Cup team. He's got 400 points.

Woods is paired this week with Kevin Costner at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Pebble Beach was awash in sunshine on Wednesday, but practice rounds for this week's event were washed out at the three area courses used for the tournament.

Recent heavy rain had prevented proper maintenance and conditioning, and the closure gave grounds crews the time necessary to prepare the venues for today's first round, said tour spokesman James Cramer.

A lot of the players were practicing at Carmel Valley Ranch, the Links at Spanish Bay and Fort Ord.

Dates/Site: Today-Sunday at Pebble Beach.

Courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links (6,799 yards, par 72), Spyglass Hill Golf Club (6,859 yards, par 72), Poppy Hills Golf Club (6,861 yards, par 72).

Purse (Winner's share): $1.9 million ($342,000).

Television: USA (Today and Friday, 4-6 p.m. delayed) and CBS (Saturday and Sunday, Noon-3 p.m.).

Last year: The tournament was canceled after rain left two holes at Spyglass Hill unplayable. Jeff Maggert finished the second round at 8-under 136, a stroke ahead of Loren Roberts, Davis Love III and Steve Jones.

Last week: Jones won the Phoenix Open by 11 strokes, finishing with a tournament-record 26-under 258 total. With rounds of 62, 64, 65 and 67 on the TPC of Scottsdale, Jones was a stroke off the tour record of 257 set by Mike Souchak in the 1955 Texas Open, and the mark of 27-under set by Ben Hogan in the 1945 Portland Invitational and matched by Souchak.

Notes: Tiger Woods will team with pro-am partner Kevin Costner. Woods won the season-opening Mercedes Championship and tied for 18th last week in the Phoenix Open. He will play in Thailand next week and the Australian Masters before returning to the tour in Los Angeles. . . . Mark O'Meara has a record four victories, winning in 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1992. Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller are three-time champions. . . . Peter Jacobsen set the tournament record in 1995 with a 17-under 271 total. . . . Jones leads the money list with $346,414 in three events. . . . AT&T is the title sponsor. . . . The Buick Invitational is next week at La Jolla, followed by the Hawaiian Open and the Tucson Classic.

SENIOR PGA TOUR

Royal Caribbean Classic

Dates/Site: Friday-Sunday at Key Biscayne, Fla.

Course: Crandon Park Golf Course (6,754 yards, par 71).

Purse (Winner's share): $850,000 ($127,500).

Television: ESPN (Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30-4 p.m. delayed).

Last year: Bob Murphy closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-stroke victory over Hale Irwin. Murphy had a 10-under 203 total.

Last week: Ray Floyd won eight skins worth $210,000 for his fourth consecutive Senior Skins title. Jack Nicklaus was second with $170,000, Irwin made $160,000 and Lee Trevino was shut out in the two-day event in Hawaii.

Notes: The tournament is the first full-field event of the year. Irwin won the winners-only MasterCard Championship two weeks ago in Hawaii. . . . Trevino won the 1990 tournament for the first of his record 27 Senior titles. He also won in 1994. . . . Jim Colbert, the 1993 winner, led the tour last year with five victories and $1,627,890. . . . Jay Sigel won the Aruba Aces on Monday, hitting nine tee shots a combined 198 feet, 1 inch from the holes. He earned $50,000 in the competition for players who had holes-in-one in 1996. Jimmy Powell was second at 227-7. . . . The LG Championship is next week at Naples, Fla., followed by the GTE Classic at Lutz, Fla.

EUROPEAN/AUSTRALASIAN PGA TOUR

Heineken Classic

Dates/Site: Today-Sunday at Perth, Australia.

Courses: The Vines Resort (7,101 yards, par 72).

Purse (Winner's share): $960,000 ($160,000).

Television: None.

Last year: Wales' Ian Woosnam closed with a par 72 for a one-stroke victory over France's Jean van de Velde and Ireland's Paul McGinley. Woosnam, who won the Johnnie Walker Classic the previous week in Singapore, had an 11-under 277 total. John Daly finished four strokes back.

Last week: South Africa's Ernie Els won the Johnnie Walker Classic at Gold Coast, Australia, finishing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over New Zealand's Michael Long and Australia's Peter Lonard. Els had a 10-under 278 total.

LPGA TOUR

Next event: Diet Dr Pepper Pro-Am, Feb. 6-9, West Palm Beach, Fla.

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Box: THIS WEEK (see text)