Golfing yarn among the Titanic tales

Tales of the Titanic have been getting a fresh airing these days to coincide with Hollywood's latest treatment of the disaster. And it should be noted that there was a golfing element to the drama of April 1912, through the celebrity status of a prospective passenger who didn't actually make the trip on the ill-fated liner.

After winning the British Open for a fourth time in 1903, Harry Vardon contracted tuberculosis, forcing him to seek treatment in a sanatorium. Those close to him maintained that he had never been quite the same player since his triumphant American tour three years previously, when he became the first overseas winner of the US Open, in Chicago.

In the event, Vardon won his fifth British Open in 1911, by forcing a concession from the gifted Frenchman Arnaud Massy in a play-off for the title. The success strengthened the enthusiasm of US officials to have him back. So it was that he booked his passage aboard the Titanic.

Vardon was a month short of his 42nd birthday when illhealth struck him once more, causing him to cancel the transatlantic crossing. But undeterred by the Titanic tragedy, he made the trip the following year, only to lose a US Open play-off to Francis Ouimet, the first amateur winner of the title.

Then, back at Prestwick in 1914, he beat his great rival J H Taylor, to capture the British Open for a sixth time, so claiming a record that survives to this day. And all because of the frail health that had failed him two years previously.

He made his third and last appearance in the US Open as a 50-year-old in 1920 when, contrary to all expectations, he led by six strokes with seven holes to play. But a sudden gale on the Inverness course destroyed his composure, allowing compatriot Ted Ray to slip past him. Vardon died in London on March 20th, 1937.

"The niblick, with its heavy head of iron, is a capital club for knocking down solicitors." Anonymous.

In common with other members of our splendid staff, I try not to make mistakes, if only to avoid a rap on the knuckles from the fearsomely vigilant readers of this newspaper. And from bitter experience I have learned to be especially careful of such matters as holes in one, or similar golfing achievements.

So it was that alarm bells began to ring when I read the agency piece in Thursday's IT about four members of St Ives GC in Yorkshire each having a hole-in-one in a club competition last weekend. We were informed that they had "driven their club into the record books."

Granted, it was mentioned that a similar event occurred at Skerries GC in July 1987. In a semi-open fourball on that occasion, Skerries members Jackie Carr (12th) and Gerry Ellis (15th) and visitors Noel Bollard (second) and Bart Reynolds (fifth) aced the four par-threes on the course. "We were told at the time that it had never been done before and I for one was convinced it would never happen again," said Carr yesterday.

In the case of the St Ives members, the aces came at only three of the four par-threes, while only two local members were involved at Skerries. After extensive research, however, I can reveal that in a charity event at Patterson GC in Connecticut in 1983, four members of the Mill River Country Club each had a hole in one - at the 162yard third, 144-yard sixth, the 189-yard 12th and the 171-yard 14th. Which is a record - unless, of course, some vigilant IT reader knows differently.

There was a time, back in my innocent youth, when the mention of 250 cc would conjure up images of a twin-cylinder Excelsior or an NSU Max or some other highly-desirable motorbike. Now, in this world of space-age metals and technology, such terms are being used to describe the head volume of golf's latest, super-duper drivers.

As it happens, no such detail is available on the Ping IST, which boasts a particularly large titanium head. But it clearly created a big impression on Lee Westwood, judging by his determination to have the new club sent out to him in Thailand for the Johnnie Walker Classic, currently in progress in Phuket.

"The technicians at the Ping headquarters in Phoenix needed to make final adjustments," explained Westwood about the last-minute rush. His particular model is custom-built with an eight-degree loft and an extra stiff shaft. But the club (£295 sterling) will go on general sale after its launch at the PGA of America's Merchandising Show in Orlando next weekend.

When Kathy Whitworth was dominating the money lists on the LPGA Tour about 25 years ago, she could expect about $70,000 in tournament earnings for a season. It certainly represented a marked improvement on 1965, her first year to top the list, when she had to be content with $28,658.

Both these figures, however, are a far cry from the sort of money that Sweden's Annika Sorenstam can bank on these days. As leader of the LPGA money list for 1997, Sorenstam earned a formidable $1,076,789, bringing her career winnings in the US to $2,679,084 (dollars).

A clearer picture of the Swede's earning power can be gained from the world money list which is issued by the Cleveland headquarters of the International Management Group. Therein, Sorenstam is credited with $1.46 million in tournament earnings worldwide in 1997 - more than $400,000 ahead of her closest challenger, Australia's Karrie Webb.

Given, however, that Seve Ballesteros led the men's world money list with earnings of $1.26 million in 1988, when Fulton Allem was in second position on $1.19 million, it becomes clear that today's women professionals are about 10 years behind their male counterparts in earning power.

But through her international appeal, Sorenstam can help them close the gap. For instance, the Swede earned $500,000 more than the top US player, Kelly Robbins, who was third in the world list. That disparity can largely be accounted for by the Swede's non-American earnings. Indeed the stayat-home nature of most American tournament professionals is particularly marked in the list of the world's top-10.

They are: 1 Sorenstam (Sweden) $1,460,252; 2 Webb (Australia) $1,048,687; 3 Robbins (US) $964,907; 4 Akiko Fukushima (Japan) $841,326; 5 Chris Johnson (US) $785,076; 6 Laura Davies (England) $694,531; 7 Juli Inkster (US) $673,270; 8 Liselotte Neumann (Sweden) $671,651; 9 Tammie Green (US) $631,492; 10 Nancy Lopez (US) $564,826. England's Alison Nicholas, who captured the US Open last July, was 11th on $549,694.

What price Mount Juliet, The K Club or Druids Glen? The point is raised by the news that Turnberry, the pride of Scotland's west coast, has been sold for $51.5 million by its Japanese owner Nitto Kogyo to the hotel giant Starwood Lodging Trust, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

For that price, the new owners take possession of two courses, including the celebrated Ailsa stretch where Nick Price captured the British Open in 1994. They also get the famous hotel with its 111 bedrooms, 21 suites and distinctive, terracotta roof. And the entire facility is on 800 acres of which 435 remain vacant.

This day in golf history . . . On January 24th, 1947, Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki was born in Tokushima, Japan. Winner of an estimated 102 tournaments, including 83 in his native country, he is believed by some observers to be the biggest earner in the history of the game.

His earning power is illustrated by events in July 1994. A few weeks after finishing 38th behind the winner, Nick Price, in the British Open, Ozaki captured the Japanese Open by a crushing 13 strokes. His prize was 18 million yen, close to £120,000 and about £10,000 £more than Price received at Turnberry.

Remarkably, his game appears to be as strong as ever. In 1997, he remained a dominant figure on the Japanese circuit and ended the year with international earnings of $1.42 million leaving him ninth behind Tiger Woods. Four years ago, he became the first player to win more than $2 million on the Japanese Tour - a feat which had not been achieved in the US until last year - by Woods, Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan.

In brief: According to Marty Carr, this year's World Invitational Father and Son Tournament at Waterville on August 12th to 16th (Dermot and Ross Desmond are the holders), will have a 54-hole format. Further details from (01) 8734244.

Teaser: The balls of A and B are in the same heel-mark in a bunker. B's ball is farther from the hole. A lifts his ball under Rule 22 (Ball interfering with or assisting play) and B plays and obliterates the heel-mark. What should A do?

Answer: Under Rule 20-3b (Lie of ball to be place or replaced altered), A is required to recreate his original lie as nearly as possible.