Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Reno’s PGA event richer than the LVI

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999 | 10:29 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at 259-4089 or bh@lasvegassun.com.

For the past 17 years, the Las Vegas Invitational has been the only PGA Tour stop in the state of Nevada.

Now, it isn't even the richest PGA Tour event in the state.

Thanks to a contribution from the PGA Tour, this week's inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open will offer a $2.75 million purse -- or $250,000 more than will be offered by this fall's LVI.

The Reno-Tahoe Open had planned to offer the same $2.5 million purse as the LVI until the PGA Tour kicked in the extra $250,000 this spring.

The PGA Tour said in a prepared statement that it believed the purse increase would help the tournament attract a strong field in its first year.

"The $250,000 increase underscores the importance of the Reno-Tahoe Open to the PGA Tour," tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "We believe in its potential as a major component of the tour schedule and put our support in making it a very attractive tournament for eligible players."

While the Reno-Tahoe Open does indeed boast a strong field, including eight players who have won tournaments this season, it is being played the same week as the NEC Invitational in Akron, Ohio -- a World Golf Championship event offering a $1 million first prize -- and has failed to draw many of the top-ranked players on the PGA Tour.

None of the top-10 money winners from the PGA Tour are in the Reno-Tahoe Field and only two (Chris Perry and Ted Tryba) of the top 20 in earnings will be competing.

Charlie Baron, tournament manager of the LVI, said he has no problem with the PGA Tour helping the Reno-Tahoe Open offer a bigger purse than the LVI.

"Why (the PGA Tour) is doing that is because this is an event being played opposite the World Tour event," Baron said. "With the format change in Akron, there are about 15 or 16 guys who normally would have been eligible to play in that event ... who are not eligible this year, so I think that was the reason for the extra money (being put into the Reno-Tahoe tournament).

"We could have moved our date opposite the (NEC Invitational) and probably could have gotten some of that extra money ... but we're very happy with our (October) date."

Southern Nevada will be well represented in the Reno-Tahoe Open as Valley residents Craig Barlow, Chris Riley, Jeff Gallagher and Phil Tataurangi have committed to play in the event.

The inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open will be played Thursday through Sunday at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno. The 156 professionals will vie for the first-place prize of $495,000.

Cable network CNBC (Cox Cable channel 35) will broadcast one-hour taped highlight programs Thursday and Friday from 8-9 p.m. and will televise Saturday's and Sunday's rounds live from 3-5 p.m.

The 17th annual Las Vegas Invitational will be held Oct. 13-17 at the TPC at Summerlin, the Las Vegas Country Club and the Desert Inn Golf Club. First place is worth $450,000.

* ROUGH STRETCH: Chris Riley, a 1996 graduate of UNLV and a four-time All-American for the Rebels' golf team, continues to struggle in the second half of the PGA Tour season.

Riley, a rookie, earned $310,161 in his first 10 events but has made only $13,534 in the past 11 tournaments in which he has played. Although he still ranks 92nd on the money list, Riley has failed to survive the cut in nine of his past 11 starts.

* NICE RUN: Another UNLV graduate, Edward Fryatt, is enjoying a fabulous second half on the Nike Tour.

Fryatt, a former Chaparral High standout and a five-time Las Vegas City Amateur champion, has five top-10 finishes in his past 10 starts and is fourth on the money list with $138,782.

The top 15 players on the final Nike Tour money list will earn exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2000.

* HOLE IN ONE: Tom Johnson of Las Vegas recorded a hole in one last week while playing the Sun Mountain Course at the Las Vegas Paiute Resort.

Johnson used a 6-iron to ace the par-3, 204-yard eighth hole. The feat was witnessed by Keith Oyama and Doug Camann.

* GOLF SHOW HONORED: The "19th Hole" television show, hosted by Dennis Silvers, has been named one of the top three local sports programs in the nation by the Community Broadcasters Association.

Silvers has hosted the show, which airs on Cox Cable channel 61 every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m., since January.

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