Player seeks revision of rules

Presidents Cup and News: The residue from the chaotic conclusion to the Presidents Cup may mean some high-powered meetings to avoid a future recurrence but for many of the players involved, it's business as usual this week.

With some serious financial reward - including a top prize of $1.2 million - on offer in the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City where three Europeans - Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Sergio Garcia - will infiltrate the fall-over from Fancourt.

While extra gold medallions will be minted so that every player involved in the drawn Presidents Cup will be regarded as a winner, International team captain Gary Player has called for a revision of the rulebook so there will be no sudden-death play-offs in the future. In the Ryder Cup, for example, if a match finishes level, the trophy is retained by the previous winners.

At one stage in the post-match discussion after the play-off - which had pitted Tiger Woods of the US and Ernie Els of the International team against each other - was halted after three holes because of fading light, US Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told American captain Jack Nicklaus on the telephone "if the captains' agree, then it is a tied match and America retains the Cup". It was only after further discussion among the players that the suggestion to share it arose.

Player, though, doesn't want to see such a situation repeated again.

"Personally, I don't think there should be a sudden-death play-off," said Player. "When you have your tee off in a major championship, or any other golf tournament, you are representing yourself. Yes, in those situations, there should be play-offs.

"But in an event like the Presidents Cup, with 12 players on each team, why should one man represent the play-off instead of the entire team? So I think if there is a tie in the future, it should be shared.

"In the horse racing business, just as a tiny example, if they run the Kentucky Derby and it is a dead-heat, they don't bring the horses back 100 yards and have a sudden-death race."

As if to show there is no such thing as a seasonal break any longer for those players at the top-end of the rankings, an elite 18-player field - but no Woods - takes part in the Nedbank Challenge, starting on Thursday. Fifteen players from the Presidents Cup, including world numbers two and three, Vijay Singh and defending champion Ernie Els, will be joined by the three top-ranked Europeans at the time the invitations were issued. This is a course that particularly appeals to Harrington, who shot an unofficial course record 62 at Sun City in 2001.

The extended field, from 12 a year ago, has meant a reduction in the first prize, from $2 million in 2001 - but it is still one of the richest prizes in golf, and even the last placed player will pocket a cool $75,000 for his troubles.

The full field is: Harrington, Clarke (Ireland), Garcia (Spain), Singh (Fiji), Els, Retief Goosen (SA), David Toms, Kenny Perry, Chris DiMarco, Jay Haas, Fred Funk, Jerry Kelly and Charles Howell (US), Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Stephen Leaney, Adam Scott (Australia) and Nick Price (Zimbabwe).

For Harrington and Clarke, it marks a competitive three-week run-up to Christmas which will also see them play in the Asian Open in Hong Kong next week and then in the elite invitation-only Target World Challenge, hosted by Woods, in California the following week.

If already well flagged, yesterday's official confirmation that next year's Smurfit European Open will be held on the new South Course - from July 1st-4th - means the resort at Straffan has become one of the few in Europe capable of playing host to one of the PGA European Tour's flagship tournaments on courses of comparable quality.

The North Course, which will stage the Ryder Cup in 2006, has been the traditional home to the European Open for the past nine years, since 1995. However, a policy decision was taken that the tournament would move to the South Course - which contrasts hugely with the old course in that it has many features of an "inland" links as well as copious amounts of man-made lakes covering some 18 acres - next year and it is also likely to be held there again in 2005.

"This represents a true milestone for the resort. This course has been built to the highest international standards and has been designed, in my opinion, by the world's greatest golf course architect Arnold Palmer," claimed Michael Smurfit.

"It will be interesting to see the reaction from the tour players as the contrast between this course and the North Course is enormous. It is a battle of the elements with wind, sand, water and wilderness."

In confirming that the South Course - which only opened for play last July - will stage next year's European Open, which will be defended by Ryder Cup player Phillip Price, the organisers have also announced special discounted prices for ticket orders placed before Christmas Eve. For example, season tickets priced at €75 in 2003 will cost €60 with the special Christmas discount.

Meanwhile, Richie Coughlan came through stage two of the USA qualifying school in tied sixth place at St Augustin in Florida at the weekend to qualify for next week's final qualifying school.