2B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2007
PGA GOLF
Players mixed about Championship
BY DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.
— What some bill as the fifth-best golf tournament looked more like an open house Monday.
One by one, players pulled their courtesy cars to the front of the 77,000-square-foot clubhouse at The Players Championship and were pointed in every direction. Volunteers guided them to the locker room, to a players-only dining room where not even their agents were allowed, and to the "Tunnel of Champions" that led them out a back door to the refurbished Players Stadium Course on the TPC Sawgrass.
Most of them didn't know where they were.
"I'm a little lost," U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said. "It's such a big building."
And despite the new look at The Players Championship, one thing hasn't changed: No one is quite sure
what it is.
The fifth major?
That won't get too many arguments because the golf course is superb, the field is the strongest and deepest of the year and the purse for this year's tournament will be $9 million, the richest of any tournament in the world.
But there are only four majors, which is why Jeff Slumans famous line from four years ago still holds true.
"When you go to Denny's and order the Grand Slam
the PGA Championship in August and even the FedEx Cup finale in September.
But even with a new clubhouse and a refurbished golf course meant to play firm and fast in any weather, there is still enough evidence to suggest that one of these is not like
"When you go to Denny's and order the Grand Slam breakfast, they don't give you five things, do they?"
breakfast, they don't give you five things, do they?"
the other four.
One reason The Players moved from March to May was to give golf a major event every month, starting with the Masters in April through
JEFF SLUMAN Professional golfer
Tiger Woods, coming off a two-shot victory at the Wachovia Championship, won't arrive until Tuesday. Woods arrives no later than Monday for majors, sometimes even
Sunday.
Major championships attract fans from all over the country who come to watch. The Players largely remains a local event, drawing most of the crowd from county limits,
and a lot of them come to be seen. The PGA Tour is starting a campaign to attract more fans from outside the state of Florida, although this will take time.
And it probably doesn't help that The Players is held a week after the Wachovia Championship, which drew seemingly endless comparisons with a major championship last week, especially after Woods said he was "ecstatic" to have won considering the quality of the golf course against the strength of the field in such difficult conditions.
More than one player was asked at Quail Hollow what the difference was between last week and this week.
In every case, there was a pause for contemplation before a nod was given to The Players.
But they had to think about it.
Due they may be to think about it.
Carl Peterson offered the best answer when asked his definition of The Players.
"it's our championship," he said.
That should be enough.
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athletics calendar
Baseball vs. Rockhurst, 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Baseball vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
THURSDAY
Softball vs. Iowa State at Big 12 Championships, 5 p.m., Oklahoma City
FRIDAY
Baseball vs. Chicago State, 7 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark Softball at Big 12 Championships, TBA, Oklahoma City Track at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb.
SATURDAY
SATURDAY Baseball vs. Chicago State, 1 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark Baseball vs. Chicago State, 4 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark Softball at Big 12 Championships, All day, Oklahoma City Rowing at South-Central Regionals, TBA, Oak Ridge, Penn Track at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, all day, Lincoln, Neb.
SUNDAY
Baseball vs. Chicago State, 1 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark
Rowing at South-Central Regionals, TBA, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Track at Big 12 Outdoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb.
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
On deck: Oklahoma State will travel to Texas Tech this weekend and cheer for Oklahoma to upset Missouri on the road, so the Cowboys can regain the No. 2 spot in the Big 12.
NO. 11 TEXAS A&M (38-11,
11-9) VS. DALLAS BAPSTEI
(25-23)
(25-23)
Series: Texas A&M. 3-0
Texas A&M, 5-0
Up: Texas A&M's offense was on fire, scoring 28 runs during the weekend, but right-hander Scott Migl had a stellar start in game two. Migl threw seven shutout innings, allowing only six hits and no walks while striking out three.
In the hole: Veteran Aggie pitchers Kyle Nicholson (10-1), David
On deck: Texas A&M looks to stay in the top half of the conference on the road against Kansas State this weekend.
TEXASTECH
Newmann (8-1) and Jason Meyer (4-1) struggled against inferior competition. The trio allowed 12 runs on 18 hits in 15 innings.
NFL
Chiefs agree to contracts with 16 rookie free agents
On deck: Texas Tech also took the weekend off and will return to action this weekend at home against Oklahoma State.
Kansan senior sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
Edited by Sharla Shivers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs said Monday they had agreed to terms of two-year contracts with 16 rookie free agents,
representing a wide spectrum of positions.
Don't Stress
Associated Press
The biggest is 330-pound defensive tackle Stanley Doughty of South Carolina, who appeared in 33 games and had 52 tackles and three sacks.
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