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Posted on: Thursday, November 29, 2001

Around the Greens
17-year-old phenom on Sony invitation list

Arizona St. psychologist featured at clinic/seminar
Four junior golfers selected for Sony Open event
This week's Holes in One

By Bill Kwon

Ty Tryon, golf's newest sensation after becoming the youngest in history to earn a playing card in the PGA Tour Qualifying School on Monday, doesn't have to wait long to get a sponsor's exemption.

High school junior Ty Tryon proved that turning pro was no fluke by earning his card to play on the PGA Tour

Associated Press

He will receive an invitation from the Sony Open in Hawai'i — the first full-field tour event of the 2002 season. And Sony wasn't jumping on Ty's bandwagon.

"Ty was on our short list of four golfers even before the qualifying school," said Ray Stosik, executive director of the Sony Open, scheduled for Jan. 10-13 at the Waialae Country Club.

The 17-year-old Florida high school junior finished tied for 23rd in the grueling 108-hole qualifying tournament to be among 35 players earning their 2002 tour cards. Tryon can't get carded as a member of the PGA Tour until he turns 18 on June 2. But he can accept sponsor's exemptions to seven tournaments and play no more than 12 until then.

So you can imagine sponsors waiting in line to get Tryon — and instant PR — for their tournaments before then.

Here's hoping that the first shall be first and Tryon accepts Sony's offer of an exemption. If he can take time out from his high school studies, that is.

"We're trying to figure a way to get him here," Stosik said. What a coup it would be for the Sony Open.

According to Stosik, besides Tryon, the Sony Open also had Hidemichi Tanaka of Japan, Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie on its short list.

Tanaka, who won the Hawai'i Pearl Open in February, also gained his playing card this week, so he won't need an exemption.

If Norman and Montgomerie decline, it opens the possibility of either David Ishii, the 1990 Hawaiian Open winner at Waialae, or Dean Wilson of Kane'ohe getting one of the spots. Both compete on the Japan PGA Tour.

Wilson, who finished third on the JPGA Tour money list with three victories this year, finished tied for 81st in Q-school. But with only a conditional status on the Buy.com Tour, Wilson likely will return to the JPGA Tour. His 2001 money ranking has earned him exemptions to next year's U.S. Open and British Open.

Qualifying under way

Besides the sponsor's exemptions, the Aloha Section PGA also has three spots. One already has been secured by Kevin Hayashi, the section's player of the year. The other two will be up for grabs at an 18-hole qualifying Monday at Waialae.

Twelve amateurs on this year's Governor's Cup team will play for another exempt spot.

For all nonexempt golfers, the only way to play in the 2002 Sony Open is by qualifying for the remaining four spots the Monday of the tournament (Jan. 7) at the Pearl Country Club. But it won't be as easy as in years past.

Under a new PGA Tour policy just announced, those trying to qualify for a PGA Tour or Buy.com Tour event Monday will be required to walk.

They no longer can use golf carts except when permitted by the rules committee to take a shuttle when there is a great distance from a green to the next tee. (The best local example is Kapalua Plantation Course for the Mercedes Championships. The distance from the fifth green to the sixth tee is four-tenths of a mile.)

The biggest new wrinkle, though, is the increase of the qualifying entry fee from $200 to $400, starting with the Sony Open Monday qualifying Jan. 7 at Pearl CC.

"There were a couple of reasons for the new policy," said Andy Pazder of the PGA Tour office in Florida. "First, it's the first increase since 1994 when the total purse was $56 million. In 2002, we'll be playing for $200 million. It's a drastic increase for a qualifying (entry) fee that has been stagnant."

Doubling the entry fee will also discourage noncompetitive players from trying to qualify, Pazder said. "We've been faced with more noncompetitive players, resulting in a negative impact of play in the Monday qualifying. The increase should result in a better pace of play and quality of competition."

As for the no-cart policy, he said it eliminates the contradiction of the PGA Tour's position, which has always been that walking is an integral part of the competition at the tour level.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.

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