Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Holiday shopping for a golfer is easy. Any golfer can use traditional items — the latest technology in balls, a new glove design or a trendy shirt. But surprising a golfer with an unusual gift is more challenging. But there are plenty of choices. If you’re seeking a luxury gift, for example, how about purchasing an all encompassing entry to a year-end tournament and party at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Inn at Spanish Bay? Or how about a gift certificate for a round or rounds of golf at a unique destination or a practical accessory stocking stuffer?

Here are four items for the golfer on your holiday shopping list. Some items are heavy on the wallet, but all are lightweight overall, easily transportable and varyingly suitable for beginners to top-flight amateurs.

* Pebble Beach Dream — The fourth annual New Year’s Championships, a two-person team best ball event with gross and net flights, will be held Dec. 30-Jan. 1 at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spanish Bay Golf Course.

Suited for couples but also available to single golfers, the package includes: two nights accommodations at The Inn at Spanish Bay, two rounds of golf (one at Spanish Bay, one at Pebble Beach), ticket to a New Year’s Eve party at The Inn at Spanish Bay, two additional food and beverage functions, individual player tee package and awards to the top-three teams in each flight.

Cost is $950 without rooms, $1,550 per player for shared room, $2,215 per player for individual room. Additional New Year’s Eve tickets are $150.

Details: Pebble Beach tournament office, Tel. 831-625-8575; E-mail: cooleyb@pebblebeach.com.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

* Perfect Pairing: Golf And Chocolate — Known as the “Sweetest Place On Earth,” Hershey, Pa., is not only the home to Hershey Company, the manufacturer of the famous chocolates, it’s home to four golf courses, including Hershey Links.

Part of the Hershey Golf Collection of courses, Hershey Links has been cited for the “Best New Course Design in Central Pennsylvania.” And it’s offering four gift packages: Three greens fees and a Hershey Links polo shirt ($135); Ten Greens Fees, Jan. 1-April 5, and a polo shirt ($199); Three one-hour golf lessons and a polo shirt ($250); And a Hershey Golf Links gift certificate. The first three gift options do not include a golf cart.

Details: Hershey Links, Tel. 1-800-437-7439; Web site: www.hersheylinks.com.

* Global Golf Adventures — The Las Vegas-based web site GolfAdventures.com is offering gift certificates for four of its popular destinations, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Niagara Falls, N.Y., Las Vegas, Nev., and Scottsdale, Ariz.

Available for $100 to $10,000, the web site will gear the certificate to specific needs — accommodations to restaurants, airfare to local transportation.

Details: Las Vegas Golf Adventures, 5524 South Fort Apache Rd., Suite #110, Las Vegas, Nev., 89148. Tel. 1-702-566-7324; 1 800-6570; Web site: www.golfadventures.com.

* A Different Kind of Caddy — Golfers who like to bring a bottle of water on their rounds now have a tote that easily clips to the golf bag and keeps their essentials handy during rounds. It’s called the Golfing Caddy, and it’s ideal for golfers who walk or use pull or electric carts.

The unisex-styled bag holds up to a 24-ounce bottle of water or a golfer’s favorite beverage. The included water bottle cooler sleeve keeps drinks cold. It’s ideal for tournament goodie bags, tee prizes and can be imprinted with company, club or organization name and logo.

Details: Vicky Forster, BVT Products, 8143 Brumby Court, Trinity, FL 34655, Tel. 727-834-8944; E-mail: vicki@bvtproducts.ccm; Web site: www.thegolfingcaddy.com.

Harrison Frazar

Harrison Frazar made seven straight birdies, including a 35-footer Sunday on the 17th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament at PGA West to shoot 59 and become the second player in Q-School histoy and sixth in a professional tournament to eclipse 60. The only other player to shoot 59 at Q-school was David Gossett in 2000, although he failed to earn his PGA Tour card.

“I’m here to make as many birdies as I can for 108 holes, then get back on tour where I can play,” Frazar said, winless in 300 career PGA tournaments. “I wanted to shoot 59 for me, just to say I did it.

Frazar followed his 59 total with a 67 on Monday to lead the 28 recipients of PGA Tour cards for the 2009 season. Frazar had a 32-under 400 total and won by eight shots.

Frazar’s score will not count in the tour record books because Q-school is not an official event. Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval are the only players with a 59 in official play. Annika Sorenstam is the only LPGA Tour player with a 59.

Here are the 28 players who earned PGA Tour cards for the 2009 season:

Harrison Frazar, James Nitties, Derek Fathauer, Chris Stroud, John Huston, Robert Garrigus, David Berganio, Jr. , Webb Simpson, James Oh, Glen Day, Matthew Borchert , Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker, Troy Kelly, Tyler Aldridge, Gary Woodland, Notah Begay III, Brian Vranesh, Y.E. Yang, Leif Olson, Aaron Watkins, Ted Purdy, Kent Jones, Bob Heintz, Chris Riley, Mathias Gronberg, Jay Williamson, Wil Collins.

Juli Inkster

When Bill Sendell assumed Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational responsibilities earlier this year, he had his own ideas. But as only the third director of the tournament that dates nearly four decades, Sendell also appreciated its traditions. Perhaps the tournament’s most unique attribute is the inclusion of women professionals. Tournament founder Harold Firstman can’t recall the first year women played, but it was his idea and it began in the event’s infancy.

Through the years, legendary LPGA players have competed — Kathy Whitworth to Jan Stephenson, Hollis Stacy to Amy Alcott. And in 1990, Juli Inkster became the only woman to win.

Playing in the next-to-last group at Pebble Beach, Mark Brooks missed a six-foot putt force to a playoff.

“I recall they were really itching for a woman to win,” said Brooks, a two-time tournament winner who Friday shot 80 at Spyglass Hill and trails co-leaders Arron Oberholser and Tommy Armour III by 14 strokes. “I can’t remember the details about the day like what the putt was, but I remember some of the women’s tees were in fairways.”

Brooks respects Inkster and her accomplishments in golf and he likes the Callaway format. Like other pros, he believes the tournament is largely for the amateurs. The competing pros play without the pressure of their respective tours.

Sendell wanted to expand women’s participation this year in the only tournament that features head-to-head competition among the four major tours. He invited Michelle Wie, Juli Inkster and Natalie Gulbis. Wie, one of the few women pros to play in a PGA Tour event, has not played in the Callaway event and declined. Inkster and Gulbis have both played in the event, but could not participate because of sponsorship commitments.

“I think that’s the great thing about golf,” said Sendell. “We like to think that we have a good handicap system and in this tournament we have a tee arrangement system to allow the ladies to fairly compete against the men.

Janice Moodie

“I don’t think I’m saying anything out of bounds when I say the men hit the ball on average farther than the ladies. Obviously, if they’re playing the same tees that’s not a fair playing field.”

After numerous practice rounds and discussions among men and women, the tournament’s current “equalizer” was determined during Firstman’s tenure as director. The system has been tweaked, but based on the pros’ average driving distance, LPGA and Champions Tour players are provided tee shot advantages on the tournament’s three courses.

Through its 37 years, the yearly field has included as many as 12 women. This year, seven women are competing: Vicky Hurst, Brittany Lincicome, Leta Lindley, Charlotte Mayorkas, Jill McGill and Janice Moodie.

Sendell and former tournament director Rich Patterson in recent years have also had to determine a women’s field based on the corresponding season-ending LPGA tournament that features the top-30 money leaders playing the largest purse in women’s golf.

Among this year’s Callaway women’s field, McGill and Moodie have both played in the tournament more than a half-dozen times. Both have made the cut with Moodie finishing as high as sixth.

But playing in the Callaway event does not equate to a woman playing in the PGA Tour event.

“If a woman wants to play on the PGA Tour then good luck,” said Moodie, who shot a 2-over 74 at Spyglass Hill and leads the seven women entrants in this year’s event at 2-under 142. “But If I were playing on the PGA Tour, it would just be to see if I could make the cut and that’s not what I’m trying to achieve. I play to be competitive and to try to win tournaments.”

McGill, who shot a second-round 77, also at Spyglass, en route to a 145 total, is unsure a woman can win the tournament, particularly with Spyglass Hill in the three-course rotation.

“That’s the deal-breaker for me, especially the par 5s,” said McGill. “But comparing the players on the two tours is like apples and oranges. And as far as playing on the PGA Tour, I can’t be competitive, so I don’t get it. If I were barely getting by, that would be pretty disheartening.”

Following the third round Saturday, the top-40 pros will advance to Sunday’s final round at Pebble Beach. Last year, Leta Lindley was the only woman to make the cut. She finished tied for 14th, trailing winner Tommy Armour III by 10 shots at 6-under 282.

Golfers who like to bring a bottle of water with them now have a tote that easily clips to the golf bag and keeps all their game essentials within easy reach while golfing. It’s called the Golfing Caddy, and it’s ideal for golfers who walk, use pull or electric carts.

— The unisex-styled bag is just big enough to hold up to a 24 oz. bottle of water or a golfer’s favorite beverage. A water bottle cooler sleeve comes with it, which keeps those drinks nice and cold.

— sturdy 1-inch metal clip easily attaches to the golf bag that also sports a handy wrist strap. This allows the golfer to easily take the caddy with them wherever they go.

— The pleated deep front pocket with Velcro flapped closure holds personal items (driver’s license and money) or game essentials (ball markers, extra tees, etc.).

— The pleated back pouch is roomy enough to hold a cell phone, glasses, balls, gloves, etc.

— A stylish and durable metal clip to hold keys.

— A handy, removable Microfiber towel is the perfect size (12”x 12”) to keep by a golfer’s side to wipe off the golf ball or clubface.

— BVT designed the Golfing Caddy in luxurious Microfiber because not only is it lightweight but also very durable.

— The Golfing Caddy is ideal for tournament goodie bags, tee prizes and can be imprinted with company, club or organization name and logo (call for details).

For more information, contact Vicki Forster (phone: 727-834-8944, e-mail: vicki@bvtproducts.com) or visit: www.thegolfingcaddy.com

(This article originally appeared in the Monterey County Herald on 11/22/2008.)

Playing in the next-to-last group at Pebble Beach, Mark Brooks missed a six-foot putt force to a playoff.

“I recall they were really itching for a woman to win,” said Brooks, a two-time tournament winner who Friday shot 80 at Spyglass Hill and trails co-leaders Arron Oberholser and Tommy Armour III by 14 strokes. “I can’t remember the details about the day like what the putt was, but I remember some of the women’s tees were in fairways.”

Brooks respects Inkster and her accomplishments in golf and he likes the Callaway format. Like other pros, he believes the tournament is largely for the amateurs. The competing pros play without the pressure of their respective tours.

Sendell wanted to expand women’s participation this year in the only tournament that features head-to-head competition among the four major tours. He invited Michelle Wie, Juli Inkster and Natalie Gulbis. Wie, one of the few women pros to play in a PGA Tour event, has not played in the Callaway event and declined. Inkster and Gulbis have both played in the event, but could not participate because of sponsorship commitments.

“I think that’s the great thing about golf,” said Sendell. “We like to think that we have a good handicap system and in this tournament we have a tee arrangement system to allow the ladies to fairly compete against the men.

“I don’t think I’m saying anything out of bounds when I say the men hit the ball on average farther than the ladies. Obviously, if they’re playing the same tees that’s not a fair playing field.”

After numerous practice rounds and discussions among men and women, the tournament’s current “equalizer” was determined during Firstman’s tenure as director. The system has been tweaked, but based on the pros’ average driving distance, LPGA and Champions Tour players are provided tee shot advantages on the tournament’s three courses.

Through its 37 years, the yearly field has included as many as 12 women. This year, seven women are competing: Vicky Hurst, Brittany Lincicome, Leta Lindley, Charlotte Mayorkas, Jill McGill and Janice Moodie.

Sendell and former tournament director Rich Patterson in recent years have also had to determine a women’s field based on the corresponding season-ending LPGA tournament that features the top-30 money leaders playing the largest purse in women’s golf.

Among this year’s Callaway women’s field, McGill and Moodie have both played in the tournament more than a half-dozen times. Both have made the cut with Moodie finishing as high as sixth.

But playing in the Callaway event does not equate to a woman playing in the PGA Tour event.

“If a woman wants to play on the PGA Tour then good luck,” said Moodie, who shot a 2-over 74 at Spyglass Hill and leads the seven women entrants in this year’s event at 2-under 142. “But If I were playing on the PGA Tour, it would just be to see if I could make the cut and that’s not what I’m trying to achieve. I play to be competitive and to try to win tournaments.”

McGill, who shot a second-round 77, also at Spyglass, en route to a 145 total, is unsure a woman can win the tournament, particularly with Spyglass Hill in the three-course rotation.

“That’s the deal-breaker for me, especially the par 5s,” said McGill. “But comparing the players on the two tours is like apples and oranges. And as far as playing on the PGA Tour, I can’t be competitive, so I don’t get it. If I were barely getting by, that would be pretty disheartening.”

Following the third round Saturday, the top-40 pros will advance to Sunday’s final round at Pebble Beach. Last year, Leta Lindley was the only woman to make the cut. She finished tied for 14th, trailing winner Tommy Armour III by 10 shots at 6-under 282.

Palmer, a fifth-year PGA Tour pro, earned his first PGATour win since his debut season in 2004 at the Ginn sur Mer Classic (Nov. 2). He will be joined by 2008 tournament winners Steve Lowery, D.J. Trahan and Chez Reavie among 29 PGA Tour players in the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational field.

Trahan won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Jan. 20). Lowery is the reigning AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am titlist (Feb. 10). Reavie claimed the RBC Canadian Open (July 27).

Palmer, whose 2007 season was the least successful of his young career, was in jeopardy of losing is full PGA Tour exemption for 2009. But he rallied to win the Ginn sur Mer Classic in unique circumstances.

After beginning the week in 143rd on the season money list, he made an 11-foot birdie putt of the final hole to emerge from a multiple player tie. Palmer’s win also came after a rain delay and during a round in which he called a one-stroke penalty on himself and recorded a bogey when his ball moved in gusting winds as he was about to putt on the 10th hole.

“I had it a little rough last year,” said Palmer, who eventually finished 68th on the 2008 season-ending money list to secure a two-year exemption. “I put so much sweat and a lot of tears into this year. I’m speechless; it’s unbelievable. The work I put in this year, working hard, grinding. For it to finally show, I knew it was coming.”

Founded in 1972, the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational is the only tournament featuring individual competition among players from the four major tours.
. . . /2
Championship rounds for the $300,000 event will be played Nov. 20-23 with the first three rounds held simultaneously on all three courses. Following the 54-hole cut, the top 40 pros and 10 amateur teams will play the final round Sunday, Nov. 23 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The winner will earn $60,000. Tee shot yardage advantages are given to various tours’ players on each of the three courses.

Admission to the tournament is free as is entrance to the 17-Mile Drive for tournament spectators.

Kevin Sutherland, who won the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational in 2000 and had two runner-up finishes this season, is the top 2008 PGA Tour money list entrant in 18th place with more than $2.5 million.

John Cook, who finished fifth on the money list this season, will lead nine Champions Tour entrants. Brittany Lincicome, one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour and a 2007 Solheim Cup member, will lead seven LPGA Tour entrants. The 14 entrants from the Nationwide Tour will include nine players who will be competing on the PGA Tour in 2009.

Rocco Mediate, second this year in a Monday playoff to Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open and the 1999 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational winner, will also be in the field that includes a half-dozen former Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational winners.

Two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, 2002 PGA Championship titlist Rich Beem and former U.S. Open winner and Scott Simpson, the former U.S. Open winner who won the 2006 Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, are also in the field.

The Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational benefits The Kiwanis Club of Monterey County and the AT&T Pebble Beach Junior Golf Association.

Tournament notes: Tom Lehman, former British Open winner who claimed the 1998 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, has withdrawn because of wrist tendonitis . . . Marc Turnesa, winner of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (Oct. 19) has withdrawn for personal reasons . . . Roger Maltbie, leading golf analyst for NBC Sports, will interview Johnny Miller, the honorary chairman of the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, next Tuesday (No. 18) at Pebble Beach Golf Links for a featured segment on the tournament for the HBO sports program Costas Now. The segment will begin airing in mid-December.

And so, here it is: The top-125 money for 2008 after the final event of the season and the top-25 money earners after the final Nationwide Tour event.

(The list features the players rank entering the final week of the season, their final rank, the number of tournaments in which the player competed and his season earnings.

1 1 Vijay Singh 23 $6,601,094
2 2 Tiger Woods 6 $5,775,000
3 3 Phil Mickelson 21 $5,188,875
4 4 Sergio Garcia 19 $4,858,224
5 5 Kenny Perry 26 $4,663,794
6 6 Anthony Kim 22 $4,656,265
7 7 Camilo Villegas 22 $4,422,641
8 8 P. Harrington 15 $4,313,551
9 9 Stewart Cink 23 $3,979,301
10 10 Justin Leonard 25 $3,943,542
11 11 Robert Allenby 28 $3,606,700
12 12 Jim Furyk 26 $3,455,714
13 13 Ryuji Imada 25 $3,029,363
14 14 Mike Weir 26 $3,020,135
15 15 Geoff Ogilvy 20 $2,880,099
16 16 K.J. Choi 21 $2,683,442
17 17 Ben Curtis 22 $2,615,798
18 18 Kevin Sutherland 26 $2,581,311
19 19 Trevor Immelman 22 $2,566,199
20 20 Ernie Els 16 $2,537,290
21 21 Carl Pettersson 29 $2,512,538
22 22 Stuart Appleby 23 $2,484,630
23 23 Steve Stricker 22 $2,438,304
24 24 Chad Campbell 28 $2,404,770
25 25 Boo Weekley 24 $2,398,751
26 26 D.J. Trahan 27 $2,304,368
27 27 Stephen Ames 24 $2,285,707
28 31 Ken Duke 33 $2,238,885
29 28 Dudley Hart 22 $2,218,817
30 29 Hunter Mahan 27 $2,208,855
31 30 Brian Gay 31 $2,205,513
32 32 J.B. Holmes 26 $2,166,131
33 33 Woody Austin 30 $2,146,431
34 41 Steve Marino 32 $2,094,267
35 34 Sean O’Hair 25 $2,089,857
36 35 Andres Romero 20 $2,064,612
37 36 Briny Baird 30 $2,039,808
38 37 Jeff Quinney 28 $1,999,371
39 38 Adam Scott 15 $1,979,160
40 39 Mathew Goggin 27 $1,969,962
41 40 N. Thompson 36 $1,869,329
42 42 Dustin Johnson 30 $1,789,895
43 43 Pat Perez 27 $1,756,038
44 44 Billy Mayfair 29 $1,750,683
45 47 Tim Clark 27 $1,722,030
46 45 Bart Bryant 23 $1,719,153
47 46 Rod Pampling 28 $1,702,952
48 118 Davis Love III 23 $1,695,237
49 48 Aaron Baddeley 22 $1,665,587
50 49 Jerry Kelly 31 $1,652,400
51 50 Paul Goydos 25 $1,640,737
52 51 Daniel Chopra 27 $1,630,690
53 52 Zach Johnson 25 $1,615,123
54 53 Fredrik Jacobson 24 $1,597,423
55 54 Mark Wilson 29 $1,578,337
56 55 Rory Sabbatini 23 $1,559,277
57 56 Lee Westwood 10 $1,550,880
58 57 Bubba Watson 29 $1,533,523
59 58 Brandt Snedeker 26 $1,531,442
60 59 Steve Lowery 25 $1,524,275
61 60 Charlie Wi 27 $1,515,395
62 61 T. Armour III 25 $1,501,256
63 64 Heath Slocum 29 $1,491,916
64 62 Ben Crane 25 $1,488,505
65 63 Ian Poulter 15 $1,488,214
66 65 Peter Lonard 30 $1,462,894
67 66 Luke Donald 11 $1,456,650
68 73 Ryan Palmer 22 $1,453,183
69 72 C, Howell III 31 $1,449,232
70 67 Matt Kuchar 27 $1,447,638
71 68 Chez Reavie 30 $1,444,102
72 69 Retief Goosen 18 $1,431,965
73 70 Johnson Wagner 26 $1,431,001
74 71 Rocco Mediate 27 $1,420,875
75 74 Nick O’Hern 26 $1,370,771
76 75 George McNeill 29 $1,361,532
77 94 Scott Verplank 24 $1,359,620
78 88 Kevin Streelman 32 $1,352,705
79 76 Dean Wilson 32 $1,350,002
80 78 Tom Pernice, Jr. 30 $1,336,277
81 77 Marc Turnesa 29 $1,329,920
82 85 C. Beckman 29 $1,312,837
83 79 John Merrick 28 $1,312,005
84 80 Parker McLachlin 27 $1,311,839
85 81 Steve Elkington 25 $1,291,114
86 82 John Senden 28 $1,269,083
87 83 Steve Flesch 29 $1,265,059
88 84 Ryan Moore 24 $1,214,900
89 96 Troy Matteson 30 $1,212,018
90 86 Greg Kraft 21 $1,204,559
91 87 John Mallinger 29 $1,201,433
92 93 Tim Wilkinson 29 $1,167,607
93 89 Michael Letzig 29 $1,166,977
94 90 Tim Herron 28 $1,164,999
95 91 Paul Casey 16 $1,156,414
96 92 Brian Davis 34 $1,151,558
97 95 Cliff Kresge 28 $1,068,207
98 100 Vaughn Taylor 32 $1,053,423
99 97 Justin Rose 15 $1,047,854
100 98 Kevin Na 29 $1,041,059
101 99 Jonathan Byrd 27 $1,039,584
102 101 Joe Ogilvie 29 $1,035,831
103 104 John Rollins 28 $1,016,032
104 102 Bill Haas 31 $1,000,939
105 103 Lucas Glover 26 $998,491
106 123 Michael Allen 28 $981,263
107 121 Tim Petrovic 32 $958,577
108 105 Scott McCarron 22 $952,070
109 106 Fred Couples 18 $949,281
110 107 Charley Hoffman 29 $945,702
111 109 J.J. Henry 34 $931,162
112 108 Corey Pavin 20 $924,282
113 110 Nathan Green 30 $912,867
114 111 Will MacKenzie 21 $911,194
115 116 Bo Van Pelt 32 $903,967
116 112 Eric Axley 35 $899,215
117 113 Alex Cejka 25 $893,998
118 125 Jeff Overton 32 $890,489
119 115 Richard Johnson 21 $884,367
120 114 Brett Quigley 25 $878,216
121 122 Nick Watney 27 $878,173
122 117 Angel Cabrera 17 $868,182
123 119 Jason Bohn 15 $866,786
124 120 Brad Adamonis 29 $862,413
125 126 Martin Laird 29 $852,752

Nationwide Top-25

1 12 Matt Bettencourt 29 $447,863
2 1 Brendon de Jonge 28 $437,035
3 8 Jeff Klauk 27 $407,418
4 2 Jarrod Lyle 26 $382,738
5 3 Bill Lunde 27 $341,446
6 11 Colt Knost 22 $329,509
7 7 Darron Stiles 28 $324,627
8 5 Greg Chalmers 24 $321,930
9 4 Scott Piercy 19 $320,187
10 6 Greg Owen 17 $309,805
11 16 Peter Tomasulo 26 $296,704
12 9 Rick Price 26 $284,922
13 10 Kris Blanks 26 $280,588
14 13 David Mathis 26 $276,412
15 14 C. Wittenberg 25 $271,919
16 15 D.A. Points 25 $266,696
17 17 Arjun Atwal 23 $259,186
18 19 Aron Price 27 $249,144
T19 23 Marc Leishman 25 $244,224
T19 18 Brendon Todd 23 $244,224
21 24 S. Gutschewski 26 $238,215
22 21 Spencer Levin 28 $236,185
23 32 Bryce Molder 27 $234,651
24 20 Matt Weibring 22 $228,155
25 22 Ricky Barnes 26 $218,902

Tommy Armour III

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — One week after completing the most successful season of his nearly 30-year PGA Tour career, Tommy Armour III will begin defense of his 2007 title at the 37th annual Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational presented by Merrill Lynch. After playing this week in the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Orlando, Fla., the final PGA Tour event of the season, Armour will among a strong field of 81 professionals in the uniquely formatted event, Nov. 18-23, 2008, at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course.

Armour, grandson of the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship winner, has five top-10 finishes this season in 24 PGA Tour events and is 62nd on the money list with more than $1.5 million. It’s the first season since joining the PGA Tour in 1982, Armour has earned more than $1 million.

The 72-hole Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, founded in 1972, is the only tournament that features individual competition among players from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour as well as mini-tour players, club pros and amateur teams.

Championship rounds for the $300,000 event will be played Nov. 20-23 with the first three rounds held simultaneously on all three courses. Following the 54-hole cut, the top 40 pros and 10 amateur teams will play the final round Sunday, Nov. 23 at Pebble Beach. The winner will earn $60,000. Tee shot yardage advantages are given to various tours’ players on each of the three courses.
Admission is free throughout the tournament on all three courses.

“I am absolutely thrilled with the professional field we have selected for this year’s tournament, all of whom will be attempting to dethrone our defending champion, Tommy Armour III,” said first-year tournament director Bill Sendell.

Ryan Palmer, who claimed his second career win last Sunday at the Ginn sur Mer Classic in Florida, will also be among 29 PGA Tour entrants.

Rocco Mediate, second this year in a Monday playoff to Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open, will be joined by Armour, Palmer and more than a half-dozen former Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational titlists.

Kevin Sutherland, who won the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational in 2000 and has two runner-up finishes this season, is currently the top PGA Tour money list entrant in 18th place with mor e than $2,5 million.

John Cook, who finished fifth on the money list this season, will lead nine Champions Tour entrants. Brittany Lincicome, one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour and a 2007 Solheim Cup member, will lead seven LPGA Tour entrants. The 14 entrants from the Nationwide Tour will include nine players who will be competing on the PGA Tour in 2009.

“Sunday’s final should be a special day as spectators have the opportunity to walk along with some of the world’s greatest players at Pebble Beach Golf Links as they vie for the professional title,” said Sendell. “Perhaps the most exciting thing is that there is no charge for spectators to enjoy the tournament.”

Armour, who turned age 49 in October, is a two-time PGA Tour event winner. He ended more than a four-year winless streak with his Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational victory last year.

After beginning the final round with a one-stroke lead over Ronnie Black, Armour shot a 2-under-par 70 final round at Pebble Beach en route to a 16-under 272 total and a two-stroke victory over Black and Mediate.

“I just played good all week and never had a three-putt,” said Armour, whose last PGA Tour win was the 2003 Valero Texas Open in a still-record 34-under par. “I told myself this morning that I had to shoot 70 to win. I shot 70.”

The Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational benefits The Kiwanis Club of Monterey County and the AT&T Pebble Beach Junior Golf Association.

Jeff Gove

There’s little disagreement life on the PGA Tour is special. Tournaments are held on the best golf courses in picturesque locations around the globe. And while competition is fierce, the lure of the game, its ever-increasing prize money and someone named Tiger Woods have all helped catapult the sport’s popularity.
The PGA Tour season traditionally begins in Hawaii in early January and progresses west to east to more than 40 events weekly events. Golf’s globalization and its diverse special events will take PGA Tour players to several countries in 2009.

But unlike pro teams sports whose athletes travel together in transportation provided by their employers, pro golfers make their own arrangements.

And, other than hoping to post low scores, travel is the biggest concern for PGA Tour players. Some players still fly commercially, others fly privately or have partial ownership in corporate jets.

Several seasons ago, Jeff Gove joined a small corps of pro golfers who prefer the comforts of home while traveling. With his wife, Heather, and the couple’s two small children, the Goves travel tournament to tournament in the family’s motorhome.

“When I was on the Nationwide Tour full-time in the late 1990s, I was driving everywhere,” says Gove. “So one day I mentioned to my wife, ‘Hey, let’s go look at a couple of these.” Gove’s wife wasn’t keen on the idea, with her only reference, according to the nomadic golfer was, “Grandma’s Mini-Winnie.” (a small Winnebago).

Once the couple investigated new models, however, it wasn’t long before they owned a 45-foot Travel Supreme.

“My wife wanted to get a dog, and traveling by motorhome just made sense,” said Gove. “It’s not for everybody, but it makes sense to us.”

Travel by motorhome by first became en vogue for pro golfers more than 20 years ago. Larry Laoretti, the 1992 U.S. Senior Open winner, gave the RV industry a substantial boost when he began traveling to more than 20 tournaments a year in his motorhome. Laoretti, now retired, eventually became an RV industry spokesman.

Laoretti’s travel preference prompted several fellow competitors, including Brian Barnes, Tom Wargo and Buzz Thomas, to also travel to tournaments via motorhomes. The foursome and their families sometimes traveled in a caravan.

John Daly, the 1995 British Open winner and controversial periodic PGA Tour player, has a customized motorhome he often drives to tournaments.

For Gove, one component of motorhome travel hopes to make more consistent is knowing his week-to-week destination. Since touring pro in 1995, the former Pepperdine University standout has rotated between the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour.

In addition to five seasons on the PGA Tour, Gove has also spent three seasons primarily on the Nationwide TOUR, and for the motorhome enthusiast that meant a sustainable adjustment.

While playing on the Nationwide Tour, he towed a vehicle for local transportation during tournaments. “On the PGA TOUR,” said Gove. “We’re lucky enough to get a courtesy car almost every week.”

Still, traveling by motorhome is his preference. “It’s just a better quality of life,” Gove said. “You have all your stuff, especially with kids. You don’t have to pack and unpack. You’ve got your own germs and the kids have their own toys.”