THE TPC - A MAJOR IN ALL BUT NAME.Byline: GREG WILCOX Golf With apologies to the Green Jackets up the road at Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, located in the American city of Augusta, Georgia, is one of the most famous and exclusive golf clubs in the world. Founded by Bobby Jones on the site of a former tree nursery, the club opened for play in January 1933. , the year's first major championship commences today at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. That would be The Players Championship. I've thought that the TPC (Transaction Processing Performance Council, San Francisco, CA, www.tpc.org) An organization devoted to benchmarking transaction processing systems. In order to derive the number of transactions that can be processed in a given time frame, TPC benchmarks measure the total performance of should be branded a major for at least six years, which was looked on as politically incorrect politically incorrect adj. Disregarding or unconcerned with political correctness. political incorrectness n. Adj. 1. in some quarters. The drum beat A drum beat, a beat on a drum, is any single strike on a single drum, drum machine, or a series of beats on various percussion instruments creating a rhythmic or metric pattern. Many drum beats define or are characteristic of specific music genres. for an elevation of status for this fine tournament increases each year. So what constitutes a major? How about history, the course, the caliber of the contestants, purse, the desire to participate in it, past champions and the amount of time television devotes to coverage? The TPC earns high marks all around. As for history or tradition, 16 of the past 20 champions have a major on their player bio and the tournament dates back to 1974. The past champions would stock a modern-day hall of fame. They include Jack Nicklaus Noun 1. Jack Nicklaus - United States golfer considered by many to be the greatest golfer of all time (born in 1940) Jack William Nicklaus, Nicklaus with three victories, including the first, Lee Trevino Noun 1. Lee Trevino - United States golfer (born in 1939) Lee Buck Trevino, Supermex, Trevino , Raymond Floyd, Hal Sutton, Fred Couples, Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite, Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer. Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina before turning professional in 1985. , Greg Norman, David Duval and Tiger Woods. This year, 31 of the players account for 51 major titles. The Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club Tournament Players Club (TPC) is a chain of American public and private golf clubs operated by the PGA Tour. Most of the courses either are or had been hosts for PGA Tour events, and even those that have never hosted an event on the main tour have frequently hosted events on the has matured into one of the best in the world. When it opened in 1982, with the signature island green at the 17th hole, players joked about it. Fans watched it, though, for the drama it brought to the game. Now the players respect it. No less than Ernie Els, who has won two U.S. Opens, calls the 17th a great golf hole. Apparently, the best in the world love the course, too. Each year it attracts a tougher field than The Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. This year 48 of the top 50 golfers in the world are playing. At the Masters, past champions can play as long as they want, which dilutes the strength of the field. Golfers can qualify for the two national opens through a series of special tournaments. And club pros get to play in the PGA Championship. The money is more major at the TPC than the Really Big Events, with the winner earning $1,080,000. The $6 million purse is bigger than the Masters ($5.6 million), the U.S. Open ($5 million), British Open ($4.7 million) and the PGA Championship ($5.2 million.) Amateurs are welcome at the Masters and the two opens. Only card- carrying PGA Tour members can play at the TPC. This week, Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson wrote of The Players Championship that ``they call it the fifth major, and in some cases it is even tougher to win than the four majors that make up the Grand Slam.'' Clifton Brown of the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times referred to the tournament as ``prestigious'' in his dispatch for today's editions. The word ``major'' also found its way into his story. Fittingly, it came from a player. ``I think just about everybody almost considers this a major,'' Chris DiMarco told Brown. Who's right? We all are. --Office Depot notes: Junior golfers will be able to learn the fundamentals of the game April 2 at a clinic preceding the Office Depot Championship The Office Depot Championship was an annual golf tournament for professional female golfers on the LPGA Tour. It took place every year from 1997 through 2005 at various sites in the South Carolina and in the Los Angeles area. Hosted by Amy Alcott at El Caballero cab·al·le·ro n. pl. cab·al·le·ros 1. A Spanish gentleman; a cavalier. 2. A man who is skilled in riding and managing horses; a horseman. Country Club in Tarzana. It features instruction and exhibitions by both LPGA LPGA abbr. Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour players and members of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division. The free event is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at El Cab, 18300 Tarzana Drive. Registration starts at 3:30 p.m. Participants must pre-register by calling the City of Hope at (213) 241-7399. ... In addition to earning $150,000, the tournament winner will receive a new Hyundai Tiburon. THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP TV: Thursday - Noon-6 p.m. (tape), USA Network; Friday - Noon-6 p.m. (tape), USA Network; Saturday - 11 p.m.-3 p.m., NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. ; Sunday - 11:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ON THE GREEN PGA TOUR The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Course: TPC at Sawgrass The TPC at Sawgrass is a well-known golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and was the inaugural Tournament Players Club. Sawgrass has two courses, the Stadium Course and the Valley Course, and is also home to the PGA Tour's headquarters. , Stadium Course (7,093 yards, par 72) Schedule: Today through Sunday Purse: $6 million, $1,080,000 to winner TV: USA (Today-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.). LPGA TOUR Welch's/Circle K Championship at Tucson, Ariz. Course: Randolph Park, North Course (6,222 yards, par 72) Schedule: Today through Sunday Purse: $800,000, $120,000 to winner TV: None SENIOR PGA TOUR Next tournament: Emerald Coast Classic, Milton, Fla. SCORING AVERAGE PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. 1 Rory Sabbatini 69.04 2 Tiger Woods 69.23 3 Jose Maria Olazabal 69.29 4 Vijay Singh 69.580 5 Jerry Kelly 69.76 5 Kenny Perry 69.76 LPGA 1 Lorie Kane 65.33 1 Annika Sorenstam 65.33 3 Heather Bowie 66.00 3 Gloria Park 66.00 5 Carin Koch 67.00 5 Grace Park 67.00 PGA SENIOR 1 Tom Watson 68.93 2 Hale Irwin 68.94 3 Tom Kite 69.29 4 Morris Hatalsky 69.78 5 Doug Tewell 69.82 SPOTLIGHT TIGER WOODS The Players Championship is one of the toughest tournaments to win given the course and strong field. Woods returns this week as defending champion and he's got that deja vu thing going again, coming in as the successful defending champion of the Bay Hill Classic. Expect another strong performance this week. CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (see text) (2) ON THE GREEN (see text) |
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