Olazabal Scheduling Prime Time in U.S.

SAN DIEGO —  Why would Jose Maria Olazabal join the PGA Tour, spurn the European Tour, spend weeks away from his homeland, risk losing out on the Ryder Cup and play eight times in the 10 weeks before the Masters?

Uh, money?

Good guess, of course, and certainly part of the answer why Spain’s second most famous golfer (Seve Ballesteros will always be first) is making such an extended stay in the U.S. to play golf. But it’s not the only reason.

At 35 and two years removed from his second Masters title, Olazabal believes time is running out on his chances to play the best tour in the world while he’s still playing at the same level as the best players in the world.

“I think I have reached an age where I want to try to compete against the best,” he said. “This is the right time.”

Of course, the money doesn’t hurt, either. Sixteen PGA Tour events offer at least

$4 million in prize money and the thinking goes that if you win enough of it, that ought to ease the separation anxiety on the home front, at least a little bit.

There are 46 card-carrying international players on the PGA Tour this year. Olazabal is not the only Spaniard playing the minimum 15 events. Miguel Angel Jimenez joined the PGA Tour this year and Sergio Garcia joined last year.

Olazabal says he believes there will be even more international players on the PGA Tour on a full-time basis, but mainly from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa because of the common denominator of the English language.

The reason, Olazabal says, isn’t only the prize money, even though it is actually enough to stand on its own. But there are also other explanations, such as the typically good condition of the courses, the tournament setups and the quality of the competition.

” But, obviously, the prize money is much bigger,” he said.

Obviously. For all his reasons, Olazabal has heavily front-loaded his playing schedule. The Buick Invitational this week at Torrey Pines is the middle tournament of a five-week stretch that began at Phoenix, where he tied for 60th, and the AT&T; at Pebble Beach, where he tied for 23rd.

“Nothing excellent, nothing great, but nothing bad,” Olazabal said of his play. “I’m starting to get upset on the golf course, which is really good.”

He has even more opportunities to fine-tune his outlook. He is also entered next week at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the following week at the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.

He takes two weeks off, then plays three in a row leading up to the Masters--Bay Hill,the Players Championship and the BellSouth Classic.

That is not exactly an easy schedule, but Olazabal said he is up to the task. He won the 1999 Masters, four years after having to watch it on television because of severe back problems that were incorrectly diagnosed for years as an arthritic condition in his feet.

Instead of health problems ending his career, Olazabal is not physically restricted at all, he said.

He also said that he isn’t bothered by the idea he might not make the Ryder Cup team because of his limited European Tour schedule.

His first tournament in Europe is the Spanish Open in May. He probably won’t play as many as 10 events on the European Tour before the Ryder Cup in September.

“That’s a choice I made,” he said. “I know it’s going to be tough to make the team, but the Ryder Cup is not the only tournament in the year. You have to balance that out. Besides, I feel if I can play up to my ability, I’ll make the team anyway.”

If he doesn’t make it on points--Olazabal is No. 16, Garcia No. 7 and Jimenez

No. 17--he could be a captain’s pick of Sam Torrance, and that’s about as close to being a cinch as you could find on the European team.

Jesper Parnevik is another player who might not make it on points because he is concentrating on the PGA Tour. Parnevik says the European Ryder Cup team needs more than the two captain’s picks it is allowed.

“When you have guys like Olazabal, Jimenez, Sergio and [Bernhard] Langer, it could be a tough situation,” he said. “There are five or six guys you would want this year.”

RECORD UPDATE

Meanwhile, it’s clear that the Buick Invitational has some big spikes to fill. Forget trying to match the weather last week at Pebble Beach, just stick to the results on the golf course.

Scoring records have been set each of the last three weeks, from Brad Faxon’s tournament record of 260 at the Sony Open to Mark Calcavecchia’s PGA Tour-record 28 under to the eight under through the first seven holes by Davis Love III at Pebble Beach.

Said Love: “Every day it sees like someone shoots an extremely low score.”

The players, not the equipment, are responsible for such lofty achievements and such low scores, Olazabal said.

In fact, he said, advancements in golf technology aren’t that big a deal.

Notorious as a directionally challenged driver, he said his driving has become even worse, so he has come up with a new plan for golf club technology.

“I think they should ban all drivers,” he said. “Just use irons.”

TIGER UPDATE

For what it’s worth, Tiger Woods is sticking a new driver in his bag today for the first round of the Buick--a Titleist 975 EFS.

He tested it with Love on Tuesday. The club is supposed to generate more club head speed for Woods, who also hopes it will help him hit the ball straighter.

MORE TIGER

In his three PGA Tour events in 2001, Woods has finished a combined 29 shots out of the lead. Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press figured out that in the 10 stroke-play PGA Tour events Woods did not win in 2000, he was a combined 42 shots out of the lead.

IT’S FREDSPEAK

From Fred Couples, who played the Phoenix Open this year, on why he usually skips it: “There are 44 tournaments every year. If this was the only tournament, I’d never miss it.”

ISN’T IT IRONIC

Keep a close eye on David Duval in next week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which should be an interesting tournament for him because he has missed the cut his last two times out.

At Phoenix, he missed the cut, playing with Nike irons. At Pebble Beach, he missed the cut playing with Titleist irons. Chances are Duval will try reaching the greens at the Hope using a set of salad forks.

MONEY NEWS

For what it’s worth, more than

$400 million will be spent in player endorsements this year, according to GolfWorld.

Of that amount, $200 million is invested in PGA Tour players, with Woods topping the charts at an estimated $54.6 million. Arnold Palmer is next with $18 million and Greg Norman third with $16 million.

MORE MONEY NEWS

In case you missed it, the total purse for this week’s LPGA Takefuji Classic in Hawaii is $850,000. Love made $720,000 for winning last week at Pebble Beach.

STILL MORE MONEY NEWS

The latest estimate of how much the PGA Tour can rake in on its new television contract is now $1 billion over four years. The tour’s $650-million TV deal expires at the end of the year and negotiations for a new agreement are beginning.

For comparison, it should be pointed out that major league baseball’s recent deal with Fox was $2.5 billion over six years.

AND MORE MONEY NEWS

The USGA voted to increase the prize money at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina (May 31-June 3) by $150,000, to $2.9 million. That’s $800,000 more than the second-biggest purse on the LPGA Tour, the Evian Masters.

IT HURTS EVERY TIME

Parnevik will defend his title next week at the Hope Classic, which is probably going to bring back a lot more good memories than the 80 he closed with at Pebble Beach. He finished last among those who made the cut.

He contrasted how he played at the Hope with how he played at Pebble.

“I made a tremendous amount of birdies,” he said. “The problem now is I’m making too many double bogeys and triple bogeys.”

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

Remember the play-for-pay compensation controversy at the Ryder Cup? You may recall it was resolved when the PGA of America agreed to give each player and coach $100,000 for charity. Tom Lehman donated $50,000 to Crescenta Valley High and the money was used to help build a new 1,700-seat gym, which will be dedicated at 7:15 tonight. Lehman’s wife, Melissa, attended the school.

Kevin Na, 16, qualified for the Buick Invitational when he shot a 66 at Encinitas Ranch Golf Club, then won a six-way sudden death playoff with a birdie on the first extra hole. Na, of Diamond Bar High, is a member of the Southern California PGA Foundation Junior Tour. He is No. 7 in the nation in Golfweek’s Sagarin national junior rankings.

Troy Aikman will make his Hope Classic debut in the celebrity field that also includes Dweezil Zappa, Yogi Berra, Michael Bolton, Glen Campbell and Rush Limbaugh.

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The Top 5

This week’s category: the top five names the Buick Invitational has carried over the years since it began. Some friendly advice: Take a deep breath before you start.

1. San Diego Open (1952-1967)

2. (tie) Andy Williams San Diego Open (1968-1980)

Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open (1981-1982)

Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open (1983-1985)

Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open (1986-87)

3. (tie) Shearson Lehman Hutton Open (1988-90)

Shearson Lehman Brothers Open (1991)

4. Buick Invitational of California (1992-1994)

5. Buick Invitational (1995-2001)