Senior notebook: Tewell, Seniors crave respect from media

Victoria Sun

Friday, April 20, 2001 | 10:09 a.m.

Sitting in a chair at the TPC at Summerlin Thursday afternoon, Doug Tewell held up this week's issue of a golf magazine to make his point.

The subject was the respect, or lack thereof, given the Senior PGA Tour.

Even though Tewell had just won the first Senior Tour major of the year, the Countrywide Tradition on Sunday, by shooting a tournament-record final-round 62 for a record 23-under total 265, it was Annika Sorenstam's picture that was on the cover, not Tewell's.

"My picture would be right there if we were really perceived to have a super major," Tewell said. "Now I don't want to take anything away from Annika because she's on quite a roll, she won five in a row, but she didn't win a major last week.

"So I thought, maybe they'll do a split cover, sometimes they do that. But that's OK. Hey, she's having a great run.

"It's something we struggle for on the Senior Tour, to get that recognition."

Tewell, who teed off this morning at 9 in the first round of the Las Vegas Senior Classic that concludes Sunday at the TPC at Summerlin, isn't an egomaniac by any means.

The day after his incredible win, he still played in a pro-am despite the fact that he had gotten only a few hours of sleep.

"The people who put on the pro-am were happy that I was there," Tewell said. "Someone said they expected me to call up and say I'm exhausted.

"But I just said, 'No, I committed, I'm going to play.' I just asked my amateurs to please forgive me, I'm a little tired. I didn't go out and drink or anything. I didn't get much sleep. I talked to a lot of people until late at night, emptied my voice mail twice.

"But it's OK, it's what it's all about. I have some very good friends who have seen me struggle. So they're very supportive when I do well. Who could ask for more?"

A little respect is all many of the Senior Tour players quietly crave.

Though certain media outlets haven't quite captured the essence of Tewell's record setting win, golf fans have compared it to something Tiger Woods would do.

The humble Tewell wouldn't go that far.

"I'm flattered, but please, that's a whole other league out there," Tewell said with emphasis. "I have no notion that I'm that good consistently.

"Probably Sunday, I could have beat Tiger Woods on that golf course but that's only on Sunday."