North finds direction on Senior Tour

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, April 17, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

Senior PGA Tour sophomore Andy North was 35 when he won his last individual title and second U.S. Open in 1985.

Since then, North has been searching for another victory.

With his improved play this season, he may be in contention at the $1.4 million Las Vegas Senior Classic being held at the TPC at Summerlin this weekend. The winner will pocket $210,000.

North teamed with part-time Las Vegas resident Jim Colbert to defend their title at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament and also tied for second at the Emerald Coast Classic.

"I feel a little bit more comfortable playing," North said. "I feel like my swing is better.

"Last year, I struggled a large part of the year. I'm looking forward to these next four weeks to see if I can get some good stuff done."

As North reiterated, "It's been a long time since I've won an individual event. Once you have that taste, you always want it back."

North will be facing some tough competition.

At press time, eight of the top 10 finishers on last year's money list, 16 of the top 20 and 19 of the top 25 had committed to play in the Las Vegas Senior Classic.

Defending champion Larry Nelson already has won two events so far, putting him atop this year's money list at $736,130. Mike McCullough has also won twice.

Also entered are two-time Las Vegas champions Colbert and Hale Irwin.

North, who doubles as a golf commentator for ESPN and works all the major championships, said people don't realize how hard it is to win at this level.

"I think the biggest mistake people make looking at this tour is they underestimate the quality of play," he said. "There are a ton of guys that can play.

"You look at the scoring and it's been terrific. And it is because guys keep themselves in great shape.

"The courses are not as short and easy as people think. I knew how good these guys were when I came out here because I had been in the booth following senior tournaments for some time now."

North played at Las Vegas last year with mixed results. After two mediocre rounds, he carded a 64 on the final day.

For North, finding the right balance between his broadcasting career and practice time has been a challenge.

Even though he is playing a limited schedule of 20-25 tournaments this season, on rare occasions his two jobs interfere with one another.

"I'm not doing enough television that it's not creating a huge problem," he said. "But I worked last week (at the Masters) and didn't have time to work on my golf game.

"Then I came in, not ready to play a major championship. Doing TV is nice because you're able to take a break from golf, but you're not able to play the same game each week."

North's familiarity with the TPC at Summerlin may help his chances this weekend.

He is one of many professionals who were glad when tournament officials decided to hold the event solely at Summerlin instead of at the TPC at the Canyons.

"I think it's a wonderful golf course," North said. "If the wind blows, you still have a chance to play it.

"You'll see some real low scores every day, but if you're off you can really struggle. It's always in beautiful condition. The greens are great and fairways perfect. It's challenging enough, though, if you're a little bit off, you can shoot 74 or 75 easily."