VALENCIA TO GIVE SENIORS HANDFUL.

Byline: GREG WILCOX Golf

SANTA CLARITA - When the geezers of golf tee it up Friday in the SBC Senior Classic, they'll confront a course with an attitude, and probably a bad one at that.

It's a condition arrived at by both design and fate.

In the past, PGA Senior Tour events were generally conducted over courses best characterized as genteel. The rough wasn't and the greens soaked up shots like a damp sponge, what with the balls behaving as if they were covered with more stickum than former Oakland Raider Lester Hayes.

Guys we'd never heard of were earning paychecks, and nice ones at that. The tour looked like a cash cow to any golfer over 50 with a handicap in the low single digits.

This year, though, the courses are getting more of a backbone, even though Mike McCullough, most famous for playing in flip-flops, managed a win.

Turns out the majority of the tour players wanted the venues more ornery.

The tour was happy to oblige.

``The players wanted (the greens) faster and firmer and more difficult conditions, particularly from the rough, so there is more emphasis on hitting the ball in the fairway,'' said Bruce Sudderth, tour director for the Senior Tour.

A misconception, though, is that pin placements are tougher this year.

Sudderth says there are basically three choices.

``We usually have the three most challenging hole locations on each green,'' he said.

Now it is harder to get balls there, especially those played out of the rough. And it's harder to hold balls near those pins if the greens are firmer.

Valencia, though, is a course that doesn't need much tinkering to make it mean. Left to its own devices, it's one of the toughest courses in Southern California.

If the pros did nothing but play it from the tips the course would prove a handful even for the long-ballers on the regular tour.

This week's weather has entered the picture, increasing the degree of difficulty.

Since the tour is roughing up the courses, the long grass was topped off at three inches, Sudderth said.

Then the rains came, which prevented mowing this week.

So when play commences, the rough could be up to five inches, possibly higher, a height usually found at major championships like the U.S. Senior Open.

It will play to 6,575 yards, and even though rain made the greens soft, Valencia will play long.

Even so, Sudderth says the course drew rave reviews from the players.

``I'm getting tremendous feedback,'' he said. ``The players love the golf course. They think it's an absolutely wonderful layout. They realized immediately it's a players' golf course.''

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the course opened for public play in 1965. It's a private club now.

And there is a chance there could be a major in Valencia's future.

``A site like Valencia is equal to hosting a Senior Open, for example. It's certainly got that kind of caliber,'' Sudderth said.

--TV time: The tournament is being televised, but not by the usual suspects. PAX TV covers Friday's round and CNBC handles the weekend. CNBC, best known for its news and business coverage, is televising 33 senior events this year.

ON THE GREEN

PGA TOUR

Honda Classic at Coral Springs, Fla.

Course: TPC at Heron Bay (7,268 yards, par 72)

Schedule: Today through Sunday

Purse: $3.25 million, $585,000 to winner

TV: USA (today and Friday, 4-6 p.m.); NBC (Saturday and Sunday, noon-3 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: $750,000, $112,500 to winner

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

PGA SENIOR TOUR

SBC Senior Classic at Santa Clarita

Course: Valencia Country Club (6,575 yards, par 72)

Schedule: Friday through Sunday

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

TV: PAX (Friday, 2-4 p.m.) CNBC (Saturday and Sunday, 3-5 p.m.)

DRIVING DISTANCE

PGA

1 John Daly 302.1

2 Davis Love III  294.3

3 Steve Allan 293.9

4 Stuart Appleby 292.1

5 Brandt Jobe 291.8

LPGA

1 Caroline Blaylock 270.1

2 Wendy Doolan 263.1

3 Jean Bartholomew 262.6

4 Salley Dee 261.1

5 Maria Hjorth 260.6

PGA SENIOR

1 Bobby Walzel 285.7

2 John Schroeder 281.8

3 Steven Veriato 279.3

4 Jim Ahern 278.8

5 Bob Duval 278.3

SPOTLIGHT

JOE INMAN

All he's done is win the SBC Senior Classic three times in a row. Now we get to see if he can make it four, which will be a tough task. The last three events were held at Wilshire Country Club, but the tournament was moved up in the year and to Valencia Country Club in the Santa Clarita Valley. Inman doesn't have a home-course advantage now and Valencia will play tougher than Wilshire, especially with all the recent rain.

CAPTION(S):

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Box: ON THE GREEN (see text)