Golf Glance

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

PGA TOUR

Skins Game

Site: La Quinta, Calif.

Dates: Saturday-Sunday.

Course: Rancho La Quinta Golf Club (7,087 yards, par 71).

Purse: $540,000 (Nos. 1-6, $20,000 each; Nos. 7-12, $30,000; Nos. 13-18, $40,000).

Television: ABC (Saturday-Sunday, 3:30-6 p.m.).

Last year: Fred Couples won $270,000 at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., all with a 10-foot birdie putt on the fifth extra hole. Corey Pavin was second with $240,000, and Peter Jacobsen third with $30,000.

Notes: Couples will defend his title against Tiger Woods, John Daly and Tom Watson. ... Woods tied for fifth last week in the Australian Open, 12 strokes behind winner Greg Norman. ... Woods, 20, was the youngest PGA Tour winner this year, while Watson, 46, was the oldest. ... Watson was shut out last year after taking the 1994 title with $210,000. ... Daly led the PGA Tour in driving distance for the fifth time, averaging 288.8 yards on the two measured holes per tournament. Couples topped the birdie stats at 4.20 per round, while Watson led the eagle category with one every 97.2 holes. Woods had better figures in each category, but fell nine rounds short of the minimum 50 for qualifying. He averaged 302.8 yards, 4.51 birdies and 56.8 holes per eagle. ... The event moves to Rancho La Quinta after four years at Bighorn. ... Woods will team with two-time U.S. Women's Amateur champion Kelli Kuehne in next week's JCPenney Classic at Tarpon Springs, Fla. Daly is paired with English star Laura Davies.

INTERNATIONAL MEN

Million Dollar Challenge

Site: Sun City, South Africa.

Dates: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Gary Player Country Club (7,669 yards, par 72).

Purse: $2.51 million.

Winner's Share: $1 million.

Television: None.

Last year: Corey Pavin closed with a 6-under 66 for a five-stroke victory over Zimbabwe's Nick Price. Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open winner, had a 12-under 276 total.

Last week: South Africans Ernie Els and Wayne Westner won the World Cup of Golf at Cape Town, South Africa, combining for a 29-under 547 total and a record 18-stroke margin over Tom Lehman and Steve Jones. Els won the individual title with a 16-under 272 total on the Erinvale course.

Notes: Pavin, Price, Els, Lehman and Jones are in the 12-man field along with Americans Mark Brooks, Mark O'Meara and Steve Stricker, England's Nick Faldo, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, Germany's Bernhard Langer and Wales' Ian Woosnam. ... Faldo, Jones, Lehman and Brooks give the tournament the four major championship winners for the first time in its 16-year history. ... Lehman beat Faldo, Jones and Brooks two weeks ago in the PGA Grand Slam in Hawaii. ... Langer won the Dunhill Masters this month in Hong Kong for his first victory in 13 months. ... Price will defend his Zimbabwe Open title next week at Harare. ... Nedbank is the title sponsor.

AUSTRALASIAN TOUR

Greg Norman Holden Classic

Site: Melbourne, Australia.

Dates: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Royal Melbourne Golf Club, composite (6,993 yards, par 72).

Purse: $560,000.

Winner's Share: $106,100.

Television: The Golf Channel (Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.).

Last year: Australia's Craig Parry finished with a par 73 for a one-stroke victory over New Zealand's Michael Campbell. Parry had a 16-under 276 total on The Lakes course in Sydney.

Last week: Greg Norman won his fifth Australian Open title, closing with a 3-under 69 for an eight-stroke victory over fellow Australian Wayne Grady. Norman had an 8-under 280 total on The Australian course in Sydney.

Notes: Norman plans to take three months off to rest a degenerative back condition, playing only in the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf on Jan. 4-5. ... Americans Jim Furyk and Steve Pate also are entered along with South Africa's David Frost and New Zealand's Grant Waite. ... Australian Robert Allenby finished 26th in the Australian Open, his first full tournament since fracturing his sternum in September. ... The New Zealand Open is next week at Wellington.

LPGA TOUR

Next event: JCPenney Classic, Dec. 5-8, Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Last week: Australia's Karrie Webb won the LPGA Tour Championship in Las Vegas, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-stroke victory. Webb, who had a 16-under 272 total, won the money title with a record $1,002,000.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Japan PGA: Japan Series of Golf, Thursday-Sunday, Tokyo Yomiuri Golf Club, Inagi, Japan.

Omega Tour: Indonesian PGA Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Damai Indah Golf and Country Club, Jakarta, Indonesia.

South American Tour: Prince of Wales Open, Thursday-Sunday, Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile.

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