GOLF ON PAR AS OLYMPIC SPORT.

Byline: GREG WILCOX Golf

One thing Tiger Woods, the planet's most famous athlete, won't have on his impressive 2000 resume is an Olympic moment, unless you count Buick's prime-time commercial.

Golf is not part of the International Olympic Committee family, which includes those noted sportsmen and sportswomen skilled in shooting BB guns, riding horses in top hat and tails (it's appropriately named dressage) or playing Ping-Pong.

How stupid is this?

Golf's lineage dates back 500 years or so, putting it in a class with bows and arrows, and it's played around the world by men and women. Still, golfers have not been on the invited list since the 1904 Games in St. Louis, when Canadian George Lyon won the title and bombed a 331-yard drive during the competition.

Since then, the game just fades away when the Summer Olympics whip the globe into nationalistic frenzy.

Now there's a chance golfers could join the party but probably not for at least eight years. And as is typical with all things Olympic, despite the feel-good images being beamed by NBC, the obstacles to golf becoming an Olympic sport involve politics, ego and power.

And Woods and his fellow pros are not likely to be welcome, either, at least under the current format.

The first hurdle, getting a governing body recognized by the IOC, has been cleared. It's not the PGA, LPGA, R&A or USGA, although the latter two are major players.

The IOC has added the WAGC (World Amateur Golf Council) to the Olympian alphabet stew, deeming it the official federation for golf. This group doesn't get a lot of publicity, but it's been around 42 years. The WAGC was formed in 1958 because the Unites States Golf Association was getting just too darned many requests for international matches.

The joint secretaries of the WAGC are David Fay of the USGA and Peter Dawson of the R&A (Royal & Ancient), so the emphasis now is on amateur contestants.

The first WAGC championship was in October 1958 and the Australian team beat the U.S. contingent, which was captained by Bobby Jones.

In setting up their Summer Games, the Aussies blew a marvelous public- relations opportunity by not capitalizing on this bit of history and including golf as a demonstration sport at Sydney. Foot-dragging is to blame.

Last month in Berlin, the WAGC won approval to come up with an Olympic proposal, which will probably take a long time to develop. But the sport's governing federation has to really want Olympic status and the WAGC doesn't sound like it does.

Every two years, the group has its team competition of amateurs from around the world. At this year's matches in Berlin, the American team won the title for the 11th straight time, but don't think we'd dominate the Olympics. France won the women's title.

The USGA is inclined to think this in itself is a golden enough moment.

``Basically, there is an Olympics of golf held every two years,'' explained Marty Parkes, senior director of communications for the USGA.

``Golf is one of those sports where people argue they already have a lot of interesting tournaments going on,'' he said. ``There are a lot of issues involved. Would it be for professionals, amateurs or would it be open for everybody?''

Professional golf has the four major titles and a full slate of world championships. Amateur golf is the same way. The thinking is that the Olympics might somehow dilute what is already great about golf.

I think it would make it even better.

After all, tennis has its own Grand Slam, but Venus Williams, who owns two of those titles this year, is in Sydney going for the gold. Track and field has a world championship every year, as does gymnastics.

Picking a team should not be a problem, since it's done every year at the professional and amateur level. And Olympic golf could include team and individual competitions spread over two weeks.

And there is sentiment to include golf. Aussie Greg Norman thinks it's a shame his sport is not part of Sydney's festivities. And American Fred Couples, who is careful about when and where he plays, endorses making golf an Olympic sport. He said he would love to make an Olympic team.

``I think anyone would love to go through that and you would get players to go even if it did take two weeks,'' Couples said of an Olympic experience. ``I wouldn't even bat an eye.''

--Free instruction: Scholl Canyon in Glendale will present a New Golfer Day program of free instruction 1-3 p.m. Saturday for men and women 18-over. The instruction, part of the Nike Golf Learning Centers program at American Golf-managed courses, will include seminars in etiquette and rules. Registration starts at 12:30 p.m. Information or preregistration: [phone].

ON THE GREEN

PGA TOUR

Westin Texas Open at San Antonio

Course: LaCantera Country Club (7,001 yards, par 71)

Schedule: Today through Sunday

Purse: $2.6 million, $468,000 to winner

TV: ESPN (Today-Friday, 1-3 p.m.; Saturday, noon-2 p.m.) and ESPN2 (Sunday, noon-2 p.m.)

LPGA TOUR

Safeway LPGA Golf Championship at Portland, Ore.

Course: Columbia Edgewater Country Club (6,307 yards, par 72)

Schedule: Today through Sunday

Purse: $800,000, $120,000 to winner

TV:The Golf Channel (Friday-Sunday, 1:30-4:30 p.m.)

PGA SENIOR TOUR

Bank One Senior Championship at Dallas

Course: Bent Tree Country Club (6,831 yards, par 72)

Schedule: Friday through Sunday

Purse: $1.4 million, $210,000 to winner

TV: ESPN (Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2-4 p.m., tape).

SCORING AVERAGE

PGA

1 Tiger Woods 67.64

2 Ernie Els 69.37

3 Phil Mickelson 69.38

4 Paul Azinger 69.59

5 David Duval 69.60

LPGA 1 Karrie Webb 69.79

2 Annika Sorenstam 70.48

3 Juli Inkster 70.72

4 Pat Hurst 70.76

5 Dottie Pepper 70.85

PGA SENIOR

1 Gil Morgan 68.95

2 Bruce Fleisher 69.01

3 Larry Nelson 69.08

3 Hale Irwin 69.08

4 Tom Waston 69.50

SPOTLIGHT

JULIE INKSTER

This should be a pleasant weekend for Inkster, if only for the memories. When she arrived at the 1999 Safeway Golf Championship, she had already won the McDonald's LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open Championship, both majors. She left town last year the Safeway champ and with membership in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

CAPTION(S):

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Box: ON THE GREEN (see text)