Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1997 | 10:40 a.m.
Gabriel Hjertstedt, the rookie who became the first Swede to win on the PGA Tour when he captured the B.C. Open Sunday, is among a group of nine players to most recently commit to play in next month's Las Vegas Invitational.
Hjertstedt was joined by former LVI champion Paul Azinger, Allen Doyle, David Edwards, Dudley Hart, Tim Herron, Jim McGovern, Steve Pate, Kevin Sutherland and former PGA Champion Hal Sutton in announcing their intentions Monday to play in the Oct. 22-26 LVI.
Hjertstedt, in his first season on the PGA Tour, picked up his first tour title and $234,000 at the B.C. Open. The win secured the 26-year-old's future on the tour for 1998 by moving him into 84th place on the official earnings list with $261,144.
"This is shaping up to be a very good field," said LVI tournament manager Charlie Baron. "We have about 20 players who have won already on the tour this year and several members of the (U.S.) Ryder Cup team."
With three weeks remaining before the start of the $1.8 million LVI, four members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which was defeated by the European Team last weekend, have committed to playing in Las Vegas: Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and 1995 LVI champion Jim Furyk.
Baron said that he expects other Ryder Cup members such as Justin Leonard, Mark O'Meara, Jeff Maggert and Scott Hoch to commit before next month's tournament.
"I would imagine we're going to hear from a couple more (players) in the next couple of weeks," Baron said. "Leonard, Maggert, O'Meara and Hoch -- those four are the ones we're waiting for. I know (Brad) Faxon isn't coming and I haven't heard from Freddie (Couples)."
While the 144-player field continues to take shape, Baron said the pro-am field has sold out all 432 spots. The 15th annual Las Vegas Invitational will be played at the TPC at Summerlin, the Desert Inn Golf Club and the Las Vegas Country Club.
Chip shots ...
* AROUND THE GREEN: Las Vegas native Robert Gamez moved into 74th place on the PGA Tour earnings list ($283,434) with his fifth-place tie at the B.C. Open in Endicott, N.Y. Gamez's finish, for which he earned $47,450, was his best since his second-place tie July 13 at the Quad Cities Classic, and followed three straight tournaments in which he had failed to make the cut. It was the third top-10 showing this season for Gamez, who also has committed to play in this year's Las Vegas Invitational. ... Tyler Mays was honored as the 1997 Boy Player of the Year by the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association at its recent awards banquet. Amber Williams was named the Girl Player of the Year. Honored for Most Improved Player were Brian Schiffman (boys 15-18); Casey Nielsen (boys 13-14); Joshua Conley (boys 11-12); Sean Kim (pee-wee); David Kendall (super pee-wee); Laura DeLucia (girls 15-18); Terri Henderson (girls 11-14); Cathleen Ward (girls 9-10); and Jordan Evans (girls 6-8). ... No one can blame the United States' failure to recapture the Ryder Cup from the Europeans on U.S. team member Fred Couples. While some members of the media questioned some of the players' commitment to the matches, Couples obviously took them very seriously. Couples flew to Valderrama a week ahead of the rest of the U.S. team to get better acquainted with the course and to give his back a week to recover from the long plane flight.
* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour stops in Pine Mountain, Ga., this week for the $1.2 million Buick Challenge. Michael Bradley is the defending champion; ESPN will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour will stage the $1.5 million Vantage Championship in Clemmons, N.C. Las Vegas resident Jim Colbert won last year's event but is recuperating from surgery and will not defend his title. The Golf Channel will televise. ... The LPGA Tour is in Kutztown, Pa., for the CoreStates Betsy King Classic. Annika Sorenstam is the defending champion.
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