Preparing for the best

  • Rich Myhre / Herald Writer
  • Wednesday, June 5, 2002 9:00pm
  • Sports

By Rich Myhre

Herald Writer

For the second time in five years, the eyes of the golf world will be on Sahalee Golf Club.

This time, it will be the eyes of the entire golf world.

Unlike the 1998 PGA Championship, which brought a primarily American field to the scenic Redmond course, the 2002 NEC Invitational on Aug. 20-25 will include top golfers from all regions of the globe. Tiger Woods will be on hand, of course, but so will representatives of the Australasian Tour, South African Tour, Asian PGA and Japan Golf Tour.

Think of it as an international Masters.

“This is a very unique event,” said Todd Rhinehart, executive director of the NEC Invitational. “When you come right down to it, this tournament is as good if not better than the four majors. These guys are the best of the best from across the world.”

The field will be small – around 75 players – and select. The participants will include members of the United States and International teams for the last Presidents Cup, and members of the United States and European teams for the last Ryder Cup. Others will be players ranked in the top 50 of the World Golf Rankings as of Monday of tournament week; tournament winners of worldwide events (with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 100 points or more) since the 2001 NEC Invitational; and the winner of one selected tournament from the Australasian, South African, Asian and Japan tours.

There will be no cut, meaning everyone in the field plays all four rounds. At stake is a purse of $5 million, with $1 million going to the winner.

Woods will be an obvious favorite, of course, and more so because he has enjoyed particular success in this event. He won the first three NEC Invitationals, all held at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, including a sudden-death victory over Jim Furyk a year ago.

The rest of this year’s field, though, is a worldwide Who’s Who of golf. Joining Woods will be top Americans like Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, David Duval, Justin Leonard, John Daly, Paul Azinger and Mark Calcavecchia. Others to watch will be international stars like Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els.

After a three-year stay at Firestone CC, tournament officials sought another U.S. venue that had hosted a major championship, but was not the site of a regular tour stop.

“When we started to research places that we would like to go,” Rhinehart said, “and then when we talked to the players, this was a course that kept coming up. The players said that this was a course they would like to play.”

Advance tickets can be purchased in three ways – by calling 1-877-942-6324 (toll free), by finding a ticket brochure at area golf courses or golf shops, or online at www.worldgolfchampionships.com. The cost is $210 for a book of six daily tickets, one for each day of the week-long tournament (including two practice rounds), and there is a 10 percent discount for purchases using an American Express card. A Championship Club ticket costs $335 for the week and includes access to the Championship Club, which is a large tent with a sports bar theme.

Children 12 and under get in free with a ticket-holding adult.

Rhinehart said the tournament hopes to sell between 22,000-25,000 tickets, which would be less than the approximately 35,000 tickets sold for the 1998 PGA Championship. “We want to make it kind of an exclusive feel,” he said. “We want to make it spectator friendly.”

What remains to be seen is if the NEC Invitational, coming on the heels of the successful 1998 PGA Championship, can be a springboard for getting a regular PGA Tour stop in the Seattle area.

Rhinehart calls this region “definitely one of the top five markets that could easily handle an annual tour stop from an economic standpoint and from a community standpoint. (PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem) has said this event is going to be looked at very carefully by the PGA Tour to see what kind of community support there is … to see whether an annual tour stop could become a reality in this area.

“If an area cannot support an event like this, which is bringing together the top players in the world, then how can it support an annual tour stop which may or may not have, say, a Tiger Woods in the field every year,” he added. “So this event is very important for the future of golf in the Pacific Northwest.”

The NEC Invitational is the second of four World Golf Championships this year. The first, the Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., was on Feb. 18-24 with Kevin Sutherland winning the title. The American Express Championship will be Sept. 17-22 at Mt. Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland, and the EMC World Cup will be Dec. 10-15 at Vista Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit The First Tee, an organization dedicated to providing affordable and accessible golf to underprivileged people, primarily children. This year’s tournament will collect $500,000 for The First Tee, with $250,000 of that total to stay in Washington.

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