THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100507
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 67 lines
Ted Tryba's lack of success this season isn't for lack of effort.
When the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill kicks off Thursday, Tryba will be playing in his 26th event of 1996 - far and away the leader in the PGA Tour's clubhouse, this being only the 28th tournament of the season.
Tryba skipped only the L.A. Open - ``I played the other seven West Coast stops'' - and the Kemper Open - ``It's the tournament after the three Texas events.''
``I'm young,'' said Tryba, 29, who this week will be defending his only PGA Tour title. ``What else am I going to do?
``I'm doing what I want to do. If I'm not here, I'm at home shooting the crap with the boys. And if I was doing that, I'd be reading the newspaper every day, wishing I was out here.''
From March to June, however, the week-to-week grind was an effort in futility as Tryba missed the 36-hole cuts in 11 of 12 events.
But when the calendar turned to June, Tryba's game took a turn for the better. He has made cuts in five of the last six events, cashing checks totalling $36,158.
Overall, he's won $74,997 this season, with his best finish a tie for 16th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic three weeks ago. He ranks 135th on the PGA's money list for 1996, but with last season's victory here came a two-year PGA Tour exemption and no immediate need to finish in the top 125 and keep his tour card. So there's no need to worry . . . yet.
``I've always had a chronic neck problem and it just seems that when the weather turns warmer, I start playing better,'' said Tryba, who tied for second in the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic near the end of the 1995 season. ``When it's hotter it's easier to loosen up.''
It was plenty hot at Kingsmill Tuesday and so was Tryba, who won the 10-player, nine-hole Michelob Shoot-Out. He pocketed $6,500 of a $20,000 purse when he beat Scott Hoch in a chip-off at the 18th hole.
Tryba parred every hole but the 15th, where he laced a pair of drivers to reach the 506-yard par-5, then sank a 12-foot putt for eagle-3.
The day's event reached a crescendo when Tryba, Hoch and Joey Sindelar climbed the television tower behind the 17th green to chip-off. The 12-foot-high platform was swaying enough without Hoch grabbing one of the scaffolding bars and adding shimmy.
Anything for laughs in the Shoot-Out, which plays to the crowd by giving Roger Maltbie a live microphone and license to carve. High score at each hole is eliminated. Ties are decided by a chip-off.
At the 18th, Tryba and Hoch parred and then chipped off from the back fringe, with the hole on the front half of the green some 70 feet away. Hoch's chip was good, stopping 6 feet short. Tryba's was better, hitting the flagstick and stopping inches away.
``Those guys were giving me the business on every shot,'' said Tryba, who lives in Orlando, Fla.
With that, he accepted the winner's check at the 18th hole at Kingsmill. He's been there before, but figures the chances of returning on Sunday are remote.
Few players successfully defend titles on the PGA Tour these days. Consider the last six to do it: Phil Mickelson ('95-96 Nortel Open), Loren Roberts ('94-95 Nestle Invitational), Corey Pavin ('94-95 L.A. Open), Nick Price ('93-94 Western Open), David Frost ('92-93 Quad City) and Davis Love III ('91-92 MCI Classic).
``It's difficult enough just to win, let alone defend,'' Tryba said. ``Not a lot of guys can do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON, The Virginian-Pilot
Ted Tryba, who won Tuesday's Michelob Shootout, reached new heights
with his 1st tour win at Kingsmill last year. by CNB