Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990 TAG: 9007080075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Long
After 36 holes, Lanny Wadkins had a one-shot lead over Mark O'Meara, with Curtis Strange and Scott Verplank two shots back. Not far off the pace were Greg Norman, Payne Stewart and Tom Watson.
It doesn't get much better than that for the Anheuser-Busch, an event in which three players - Ronnie Black, Tom Sieckmann and Mike Donald - have won their only PGA Tour titles.
Make no mistake about it, these guys can play. Donald, of course, came within an eyelash of winning the U.S. Open this year. But who are golf fans going to get excited about? Wadkins, Strange and Norman? Or Mike Hulbert, Don Shirey Jr. and Tim Norris?
Incidentally, those were the leaders after 36 holes in 1989, when the Anheuser-Busch Classic held its usual spot on the tour schedule, one week before the British Open.
The only time the Anheuser-Busch Classic was not held before the British Open, it was held one week after the British Open in the early 1980s. Even that was preferable to serving as a warm-up for those players traveling overseas.
Problem is, the players weren't looking for a warmup, at least not the kind offered by Kingsmill, where the temperature in July can approach the 100-degree mark. The British Open is notorious for its rain, cold and wind, i.e., sweater and ski-cap weather.
"It's been four years since I've played at Kingsmill, and the only reason is because it's held one week before the British Open," O'Meara said. "I always felt it was difficult to play in this climate one week and then the next week go to a completely different climate."
The biggest problem, though, for players wanting to play in both tournaments was travel connections.
"The year Norman won the British Open [in 1986], my flight was late out of Richmond and I couldn't get there for a day and a half, so I didn't go at all," Wadkins said. "I went home to Dallas.
"I can't say I was too upset when I woke up Thursday morning and saw on TV where it was blowing 80 mph [at Turnberry]. But at my age [40], I only have so many British Opens left in me."
So Wadkins, like O'Meara, had not played at Kingsmill since 1986. Neither had Stewart. Watson, who won the 1978 Anheuser-Busch Classic when it was held in Napa, Calif., and Norman had never played at Kingsmill.
The one constant had been Strange, but he lives at Kingsmill and represents the club on the tour. But even he had to deal with the inconvenience of trying to get to New York or Boston in time to catch the Concorde on Sunday night.
That hassle was eliminated when new dates were announced for the Anheuser-Busch Classic, which this year is being held two weeks before the British Open. The Bank of Boston Classic has become the new PGA Tour preliminary for the British Open, and that at least should make travel connections easier.
At no point this week have players mentioned the increase in Anheuser-Busch prize money from $850,000 to $1 million, but only three remaining tournaments - the PGA Championship, the Las Vegas Invitational and Nabisco Championship - have a bigger purse.
The players do not appear to be wild about the course, although criticisms that the layout was too "gimmicky" have subsided. For the most part, players prefer courses on which they don't have to make 20 or more birdies to win.
"The course is pretty challenging, but we realize this is Curtis' home and we're all his friends," O'Meara said. "If he asks us to come and play, we'll try and make our best effort."
The field this week not only includes 12 of the top 20 money-winners, but Strange is joined by seven of his 11 U.S. teammates from the Ryder Cup matches last year against Europe.
"Anheuser-Busch has been a very good sponsor," O'Meara said, "and now that the tournament dates have changed, I think you'll continue to see this tournament get a strong field.
"Granted, Greg Norman can't play every single week, but if he plays well this year [at Kingsmill], he might be coming back."
Don't count on it. The dates have been announced for the 1991 PGA Tour, and the Anheuser-Busch Classic will be June 20-23 - one week after the U.S. Open.
PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman had promised more favorable dates at the first opportunity, hence this year's change, but rescheduling of the Memorial tournament caused this latest revision.
To get some idea of the likely field for the 1991 Anheuser-Busch Classic, check out this year's Buick Classic at Westchester in Rye, N.Y. The 1990 Buick Classic, which ended June 24 - six days after Hale Irwin's U.S. Open playoff victory - had just seven players currently ranked in the top 20, led by No. 4 Paul Azinger.
"I think the [1991 dates] might hurt a little bit," O'Meara said. "The field might not be as strong. No tournament has a strong field every year.
"But if you haven't played in, say, Atlanta for the last four or five years, then I think it's your duty to go back and play again."
Anheuser-Busch officials can only hope the top players aren't all doing their "duty" at the same time this year.
by CNB