Golf: Things heating up for Hyundai Matches
Richard Dunn
With better luxury accommodations, improved shuttle transportation
for the gallery and lower ticket prices, organizers of the Hyundai Team
Matches are anticipating a huge attendance increase this weekend at
Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast.
Last year, when the made-for-television event was played here for the
first time, following its original years at PGA West in La Quinta and a
one-year hiatus in 1998, the Diners Club Matches played to generally
positive reviews as sunny weather blanketed the coast and Irvine Co.
executives celebrated.
But attendance, according to tournament director Gary Pollard, was at
least 50% lower last year than what was expected.
Pelican Hill looked good on television with the camera shots from a
blimp, but the sparse galleries were a sore spot. Changes were promised
and ultimately made.
In 1999, an estimated 3,500 fans attended on Saturday and 5,500 on
Sunday, Pollard said. But this weekend’s Hyundai Team Matches should blow
those crowd figures out of the Pacific Ocean.
In fact, ticket sales are so “brisk,” Pollard said, that his office
has stopped selling advanced tickets, referring people to Ticketmaster,
instead.
“I don’t know what the numbers are (for advanced ticket sales). You’ll
have to call Ticketmaster,” Pollard said. “But, here in our (Pelican
Hill) office, the phones are ringing off the hook.”
With p.r. spins coming from different angles, it’s clear the event
will have a changed appearance, with the 24 pros playing only the Ocean
North course. Last year, it was held over 14 holes on the Ocean North and
the final four holes on the Ocean South, which forced spectators to make
a long walk from the 14th to the 15th hole.
A shuttle service will also be set up to help galleries get around the
hilly layout.
Furthermore, among the complaints from paying customers last year was
the no access sign at the Pelican Hill Clubhouse Grill and Bar, which was
closed to the public.
This weekend, the doors will be open. For a price. The facility is
available to fans at $45 (for the pro-am Friday), $55 (Saturday) and $60
(Sunday), a cost that does not include food and beverages. It’s a hefty
cover charge, indeed, but that’s what this affluent marketplace demands,
Pollard said.
“It gets you where you want to be, where some people insisted they
wanted to be,” said Pollard, hired to operate the event by the company
formerly known as Jack Nicklaus Productions, now Gaylord Entertainment.
Ticket prices have also been reduced, with single-day passes on the
weekend dropping from $65 to $35 and three-day badges going from $125 to
$65.
Pelican Hill, the high-end daily fee resort facility with two golf
courses, agreed to a one-year contract with Gaylord Entertainment for the
2000 event, which will be shown live on ABC from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. The Irvine Co. owns Pelican Hill.
Hyundai replaced Diners Club, the original title sponsor, in August.
The Korean car maker is based in Fountain Valley.
The event features four two-player teams from each of the three major
tours competing in three separate tournaments, a total of 24 pros from
the PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. They will also play in the
Friday Pro-Am.
Defending Senior Tour champions Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson are the
event’s top headliners, while Annika Sorenstam, with partner Lori Kane,
and defending champions Juli Inkster and Dottie Pepper are the ladies’
marquee names. Fred Couples, Tom Lehman and Phil Mickelson head the PGA
Tour list. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at (877) 484-3014.
In the second annual Holiday Invitational Pro-Am Dec. 21 at Newport
Beach Golf Course, tournament director Keith Wyrick, also the
course-record holder at the executive course with a 49, has invited two
dozen senior golf pros to play in the small event that benefits a boy and
a girl with cystic fibrosis.
But Wyrick doesn’t think any of the pros will break his course record
of 10-under-par.
“I’ll put the pins in places where they can’t beat my record,” said
the affable Wyrick, a longtime starter at Newport Beach Golf Course.
Ray Carrasco, an Irvine pro who plays on the European Senior PGA Tour,
has committed to play in the event, Wyrick said. Carrasco has played in
the Toshiba Senior Classic the last four years, the Senior PGA Tour stop
at Newport Beach Country Club.
Hank Woodrome (Fullerton Golf Course), the Southern California PGA
Senior Player of the Year and money leader in 2000, will also tee it up.
In the fund-raiser, golfers will play their own ball on holes one
through six, then play alternate shot on holes seven through 12 and a
scramble on 13 through 18.
To make it more confusing, it’s a shotgun start. Players will need to
adjust accordingly depending on which hole they begin. The tournament’s
great fun and Wyrick always keeps things hopping.
The 2000 Dennis Paulson Junior Invitational Championship, a 36-hole
event with no cut, is Dec. 27-28 at Cypress Golf Club in Los Alamitos.
The event, operated by Junior Amateur Golf Scholars, requires a $125
registration for greens fees, range balls, lunch and awards.
Entries are open to all junior golfers between 13 and 18. Players may
be 18 if attending high school.
Membership in JAGS or 3.0 grade-point average is not required to play
in the invitational. However, JAGS members are given priority status.
Details: (714) 952-3316.
Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.
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