Love Has Spine for PGA Pressure

The defending PGA champion seems ready to go, with only two things requiring his immediate attention: his sore back and the pressure being loaded on it.

For Davis Love III, there probably are better ways to get ready to defend his one major title next week at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Wash., but this is the only one he has.

Love has a disk problem in his lower back that has caused pain to shoot down his leg. He even had some trouble walking, but that may be nothing compared to defending his title.

“I have a little more confidence going in,” Love said. “But I know it’s still going to be very difficult. Sahalee is going to be a test of golf that we haven’t seen before, [but] I know every time I play, I have a little bit more confidence because of my win at Winged Foot [in Mamaroneck, N.Y.].

“I don’t know why sometimes defending champions don’t play very well. Sometimes the pressure gets to them.”

Maybe he’s right. Nick Price won in 1992, but tied for 31st in 1993. Paul Azinger won in 1993, but missed the cut in 1994, when he was coming back from cancer.

Price won again in 1994, but tied for 39th in 1995. Steve Elkington won in 1995 and managed to tie for third in 1996. But Mark Brooks won in 1996 and missed the cut in 1997.

WHO’S SAHALEE NOW?

Might as well get this straight right now: Sahalee comes from the Chinook Indians and means high, heavenly ground. It is not known how the Chinooks felt about golf.

In any event, the 29-year-old club made a lot of improvements to land the PGA, spending more than $3 million for a new irrigation system. There were 30,000 tons of sand brought in to top-dress the fairways, 400 trees removed, an access road added.

Rees Jones came on board to rebuild the bunkers and two new tee boxes were built.

When Sahalee opened in 1969, it had cost $1.2 million.

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD

Paul Runyan, the 90-year-old two-time PGA champion being honored next week with the PGA’s distinguished service award, is the son of a dairy farmer in Hot Springs, Ark., who considered golf frivolous.

He changed his mind when Paul brought home $60 one week.

Runyan was the first pro at Sahalee.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS?

John Daly, who won the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews, will make a return visit when he joins Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara on the U.S. team in the Dunhill Cup, Oct. 8-11.

PHONE IT IN

Guess where all the agents with their sunglasses and their briefcases and their cellular phones are going to be in a couple of weeks?

Suddenly, it’s a star-studded field at the U.S. Amateur, once Woods’ domain and now the place where two of the best amateurs in the world are going to cross clubs--Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech and Sergio Garcia of Spain.

Kuchar, the defending champion, says he isn’t turning pro, and British Amateur champion Garcia is believed to be waiting until after next year’s Masters to turn pro.

The event will be held Aug. 24-30 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., site of the 1995 Ryder Cup.

NO SALE AT RIVIERA

Is it for sale or not? Well, in this month’s The Riviera, a publication for members of Riviera Country Club, owner Noboru Watanabe seemed to make it pretty clear: No.

“It is not my policy to respond to any kind of rumor, but in order to be fair to our members, I deny, loud and clear, this preposterous allegation.”

Stay tuned.

MONEY NEWS

It’s a race to the bank in the LPGA, where Annika Sorenstam overtook Se Ri Pak and moved into the lead after winning $111,711 last week when she finished second at the du Maurier Classic in Windsor, Canada.

Pak, who had won the last two majors, finished tied for 41st. This is familiar territory for Sorenstam, who has $790,495 and was the leading money winner in 1997 and 1995.

Going into this week’s Star Bank LPGA Classic, Sorenstam is second to Pak in the player-of-the-year race, but Sorenstam leads in scoring average with 69.70, rounds under par, 38 of 53; top-10 finishes, 13 of 15, and greens in regulation.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

The $720,000 special event at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Nov. 12-15, will be called the Senior Match Play Challenge. It features 16 players in a single-elimination format. Twelve players are chosen from the money list and four more come from special exemptions.

The Bad Golfers Assn. is holding a tournament Monday at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. The event benefits the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Neil Bogart Memorial Fund at Children’s Hospital. Details: (310) 369-0572.

Golfers have a chance to make a $1-million shot, Sept. 21-26, at Los Alamitos Race Course. Contestants hit from the grandstand over the race track to a hole 141 yards away in the infield. The entry fee of $1 will benefit CaP Cure-the Assn. for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate. Details: (949) 854-1414.

Glen Campbell will host the 16th Academy of Country Music Bill Boyd Celebrity classic Oct. 12 at De Bell Golf Course in Burbank. The event benefits local charities and raised $120,000 last year. Details: (323) 462-2351.

Pacific Bell is sponsoring an invitational tournament Nov. 23 at Sherwood Country Club. The event benefits the Los Angeles County Public Library Foundation. Details: (310) 641-6477.

Maury Wills will host a celebrity tournament Oct. 12 at MountainGate Country Club in Brentwood. The event benefits Today’s Fresh Start. Elgin Baylor, Jim Brown, Orlando Cepeda, Tommy Davis, Steve Garvey, Willie Gault, Barbara McNair, Nichelle Nichols, Peter O’Malley, John Roseboro and Fred Williamson are among those expected to play. Details: (310) 855-0172.

The fourth Fritz Coleman Fair Weather Classic and auction will be held Sept. 28 at Lakeside Golf Club. The event benefits the Salvation Army. Details: (213) 896-9160.

Sylvia Kim is the defending champion in the 35th Pasadena City Women’s Championship at Brookside Golf Course, Sept. 29-Oct. 1.