Columnist Peter Benton: LVI senior classic starting to take form

Peter Benton

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998 | 1:14 a.m.

PETER BENTON is a local golfer. His column appears Wednesdays.

THE FIELD FOR the 13th Las Vegas Senior Classic has been partially set, with headliners such as Jim Colbert, Gibby Gilbert, Charles Coody, Ray Floyd, Al Geiberger, Bruce Crampton and last year's victor, Hale Irwin, already having committed to the April 23-26 event.

But you can lay money that 1992 winner Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez, the champion in both 1989 and 1990, also will be in the field before the entry deadline approaches.

Courses to be played are the 7,243-yard TPC at Summerlin and the 6,839-yard TPC at The Canyons. First-place prize money from the $1.4 million purse will be $210,000, with $20,000 at stake in the pro-am.

The tournament will be a 72-hole event, with a split field format Thursday and Friday. Foursomes will consist of three amateurs (with a maximum handicap of 21) and one professional in a best-ball format.

Each of 234 amateurs will play one round at both courses, with the low 26 playing in Saturday's shootout. No amateurs will play in Sunday's final round.

The TPC at Summerlin will be the weekend host course. Further details and ticket information may be obtained by calling 242-3000.

Senior qualifier

Professional golfers over the age of 50 will be given the opportunity at 8 a.m. on April 20, to qualify for this year's Las Vegas Senior Classic by TruGreen ChemLawn.

The qualifying tournament will be an 18-hole stroke play event with the field limited to 156 players who do not have exempt status on the Senior PGA Tour.

The low four scorers will gain entry into the Senior Classic and round out the 78-player field.

This Monday qualifying event will be played at the TPC at The Canyons and is open to the public.

Casey a la cart

I have a great deal of empathy and compassion for Casey Martin, a talented young man who with his victory in the Nike Lakeland Classic earlier this year, proved he can play this game.

Martin, 25, has a congenital circulatory disorder in his lower right leg which makes it very painful for him to walk. His battle with the PGA Tour for permission to ride a cart certainly has divided the ranks.

My initial thought is that golf is golf and rules are rules. But in this particular instance, I feel the guy should be given an opportunity to earn a living via the sport he obviously loves so much.

But now that Pandora's Box has been opened, or at least seriously tampered with, what is going to follow?