Sudden death, wild finishes thrill crowds

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999 | 11:39 a.m.

Whoever said golf is boring must never have watched or attended the Las Vegas Invitational.

Because the LVI, entering its 17th year, has never been short on drama.

There was the string of consecutive sudden death playoffs from 1989-1991.

There was Paul Azinger's eagle on the 18th hole that lifted him to victory in 1987.

And the LVI is where PGA Tour crowd favorite Tiger Woods won his first tournament in 1996.

Of the 16 prior tournaments here, eight have been decided by one stroke including both victories by defending champion Jim Furyk.

In 1995, Furyk won his first LVI by edging Billy Mayfair. Furyk shot a 67 the final day for a five-day total 29-under-par 331 to Mayfair's 332.

Last year, Furyk finished with a five-day total 25-under-par 335 to beat out Mark Calcavecchia by a stroke.

This year, nine of last year's top 10 LVI finishers, including Furyk and Calcavecchia will be back.

So who will win this event riddled with past excitement?

You'll probably have to wait until Sunday after the final shots are played on 18.

* ON THE BUBBLE: Craig Barlow, a Basic High School graduate out of Henderson, will have a tough mission at the Las Vegas Invitational. Barlow is currently ranked 130th on the money list with $285,218. To retain his PGA Tour card, Barlow must perform well at the LVI, the second to last tournament of the year, to help him finish in the top 125 on the money list. If not, he'll have to go back to Q-School.

* FURYK'S FIRST: In 1995 Jim Furyk picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the LVI. The defending champion is also the only two-time winner of the event.

* THE PRICE IS RIGHT: The LVI purse was increased from $2 million to $2.5 million, but ticket prices haven't been inflated. Tickets for this year's tournament are the same price as last year.

Daily tickets are $15 and $20 at the gate and season badges can be bought for $50 in advance and $75 at the gate. Seniors and military personnel can still take advantage of 2-for-1 ticket specials. With every ticket purchased, they will receive a free ticket to be used by another senior or person in the military. Juniors are free when attending with an adult.

* NO CAMERAS OR CELL PHONES PLEASE: Fans will not be allowed to bring cameras and cell phones to the LVI or any other PGA Tour event. The tour started banning the devices in March at the Players Championship. It will set up a claim check near the gates where fans can leave the items until they leave the course.

* ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE: Three of the top-five finishers at the LVI in 1998 were former champions. They were: defending champ Jim Furyk, 1993 winner Davis Love III and 1990 winner Bob Tway.

* FIRST TIMERS: 1999 has been a very good year for LVI players Rich Beem, Brent Geiberger, J.L. Lewis and Tom Pernice Jr. Each won his first tournament this year. Beem did it with a victory at the Kemper Open, Lewis at the John Deere Classic, Geiberger at the Canon Greater Hartford Open and Pernice Jr. at the Buick Open. Beem also was the PGA Tour's player of the month in May.

* TPC IS GOOD FOR ME: The LVI is played on three courses including the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin. Fred Couples, entered in this year's LVI, is tied with Nick Price for the most wins on TPC courses. Couples has two titles at TPC at Sawgrass (The Players Championship), and one each at the TPC at Eagle Trace (Honda Classic), the TPC at Southwind (FedEx St. Jude Classic) and the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas (GTE Byron Nelson Classic).

* STASH THE CASH: Instead of using cash or credit cards at the Tournament's Player Club at Summerlin, fans will use the Station Casinos SportsCash Card to make all purchases. When fans get to the TPC, they will use cash or a credit card to put a dollar amount on the cash card. The card acts like a debit card and can be reloaded at any time. Any money left over on the card can be refunded or donated to charity.

* REUNITED: Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Steve Pate, all members of the 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team that stunned Europe with the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history, will be playing in the LVI.

* LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: With his win at the Canon Greater Hartford Open, Brent Geiberger became the first son of a former PGA Tour winner to win on the tour since Guy Boros at the 1996 Greater Vancouver Open. Geiberger's father, Al, won 11 times on the PGA Tour and 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour.

* ROCCO SOLID: Rocco Mediate's victory at the Phoenix Open made him the first player since Scott McCarron in the 1997 BellSouth Classic to win on the PGA Tour using the long putter. Mediate became the first to win on tour with the long putter when he defeated Curtis Strange in a playoff for the 1991 Doral-Ryder Open title.

* AND THE AWARD GOES TO: Scott Verplank was named PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year and Steve Flesch was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last year.

* FEHRY GOOD: Rick Fehr tied an all-time PGA Tour record during the first 36 holes of the 1996 LVI. He opened with a 64 at the Las Vegas Hilton and then added a 62 at the TPC at Summerlin for a 17-under 126 total, tying the first 36 hole record. Earlier this year, David Frost tied the mark with his start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

* SHARING THE WEALTH: Eleven LVI players in the top 100 on the money list this year have had career-best seasons in earnings. They are: Steve Pate, Tim Herron, Rocco Mediate, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Tommy Armour III, Dennis Paulson, Bradley Hughes, Chris DiMarco, Mike Weir, Franklin Langham and Jonathan Kaye.

* BACK FOR MORE: There are eight former LVI champions competeting in this year's tournament: Jim Furyk (1998, 1995), Bill Glasson (1997), Bruce Lietzke (1994), John Cook (1992), Andrew Magee (1991), Bob Tway (1990), Paul Azinger (1987) and Fuzzy Zoeller (1983).