Golf column

The Golden Bear is coming to Newport Coast.

Jack Nicklaus, who has never played in the Toshiba Senior Classic, the

Senior PGA Tour stop at Newport Beach Country Club, and Tom Watson will

pair for the 1999 Diners Club Matches at Pelican Hill Golf Club.

Nicklaus, who’s back on the links following hip-replacement surgery,

and Watson, who made his first Senior Tour appearance in the Comfort

Classic at Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis Sept. 10-12, will headline

the field of 12 two-player teams from the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours.

“We’ve known for some time that (Nicklaus) was coming and he was going

to play with Watson, but we held back in announcing it until Watson made

his debut on the Senior Tour,” said Diners Club tournament director Gary

Pollard, who didn’t want to steal the thunder of Watson playing at

Brickyard.

For Nicklaus, considered by many to be the greatest player in the

history of golf, it is believed to be his first local appearance as a

competitive player. His company, Jack Nicklaus Productions, Inc., is

operating the made-for-television event, which will be shown live on ABC

Dec. 11-12.

Nicklaus and Watson, who together have won 103 PGA Tour events and 26

majors, are pairing for the first time in a professional competition. As

participants in 10 Ryder Cups and captains for three more, they have

plenty of experience with the team match-play format used at the Diners

Club Matches.

Gil Morgan and Jay Sigel will battle Nicklaus and Watson. The other

two teams from the Senior Tour are Allen Doyle and Dana Quigley, and

Bruce Fleisher and a partner to be named later.

From the PGA Tour, Fred Couples-Phil Mickelson, Steve Pate-Mark Wiebe;

Chris Perry-Paul Azinger; and Jeff Maggert-Steve Elkington are paired.

From the ladies tour, Juli Inkster-Dottie Pepper; Nancy Lopez-Kelli

Kuehne; Karrie Webb-Kelly Robbins; and Annika Sorenstam-Lori Kane are

paired.

The Diners Club Matches will be played on holes one through 14 on the

North Course, and 15 through 18 on the South Course, about a two-minute

ride on the golf cart for players traveling from the 14th green to the

15th tee. The bulk of the event’s hospitality village will be positioned

in that area.

The event is also looking for volunteers to be course marshals,

walking scorers, press room assistants, concession attendants and scoring

assistants. Details: (949) 759-5175.

Diners Club tickets are $125 and include admission for the practice

rounds Dec. 10 and both tournament days. Parking is also included. Ticket

sales are limited to 10,000. Details: (949) 759-5175.

Not far from Newport Beach Country Club are high-end daily fee public

golf courses with unique features, such as a monstrous 600-yard hole

(Strawberry Farms Golf Club) and tricky, turtleback greens (Aliso Viejo).

Newport Beach officials are aware of their competition, and that’s why

the club continually strives to upgrade and improve its links, pumping

dollars back into the program even though it could probably rest of its

laurels.

“A lot of (public) golf courses have opened up in Orange County the

last five-to-seven years, and that competition drives you to be better,”

said Jerry Anderson, Newport Beach Country Club President. “We want to

make sure we’re providing what the membership wants.”

In an effort to create a little more “flash” behind certain greens,

Anderson received approval last week from the club’s parent company,

International Bay Clubs, Inc., to go forward with four new projects on

the private golf course, including a major change at the 18th green.

Three of the four projects will be completed by Thanksgiving --

rebuilt tee boxes on Nos. 3 and 6 and a mound constructed behind the

fifth green to give the hole a backstop. The club is using architect Ted

Robinson’s services again for golf course design.

The fourth project, the building of a large mound behind the 18th

green, will not begin until after the 2000 Toshiba Senior Classic (Feb.

28 through March 5), the Senior PGA Tour stop at Newport Beach. The cost

of the four projects is in excess of $200,000.

“There has certainly been a lot of history on that 18th green the past

two years in the Toshiba Senior Classic, but the remodeling will make it

a more challenging finishing hole,” said Anderson, referring to Hale

Irwin’s course-record 62 in the 1998 Toshiba event and Gary McCord’s

improbable victory in a five-hole playoff this year.

An improved driving range and a new bunker on 17 will also be part of

the off-season plans, Anderson said. Work is scheduled to begin after

Oct. 1.

Following the 2000 Toshiba event, construction will begin and the 18th

fairway will slope down toward the throat, while the green will be

elevated, giving golfers an uphill approach and taking the “easy birdie”

out of play for the Senior Tour guys starting in 2001.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.