DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709261034

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: RICH RADFORD

LENGTH: 74 lines

MICHELOB REPORT

Bad timing, snub

mean Paulson will

not be at Kingsmill

Virginia Beach's Carl Paulson, who fired a sizzling 63 in the second round of last year's Michelob g1rr26 Carl

Paulson

Championship at Kingsmill and ended up tied for 23rd, will not be playing in this year's event, slated for Oct. 9-12.

Paulson, who lost his PGA Tour card after failing to finish among the top 125 money winners last season, was hoping for a sponsor's exemption that didn't come. Even if one had been extended, he might have had to turn it down.

Paulson, 26, is 19th on the Nike Tour's money list with $77,581 - and the top 15 earn 1998 PGA Tour cards.

The Nike Tour originally had an open date on the same week as The Michelob, but when the Nike Shreveport Open was washed out by rain in the second week of April, it was rescheduled for the second week of October, and it appears that playing in it could be imperative for Paulson.

Paulson is playing in this week's Nike Tri-Cities Open in Richland, Wash., and intends to play in the Nike Tour's last three events as well.

``The rainout in Shreveport was probably a blessing in disguise,'' Paulson said. ``I wasn't playing that well at the time. Now maybe I can go down there and do something.''

Paulson did something last week: He finished second to Iain Steel, three strokes back in the Nike Boise Open to pocket $31,213.

``I played well except for six holes,'' Paulson said. ``I pulled even with Iain after eight holes of the final round, then bogeyed three of the next six.''

Ryder Cup has a strong

Michelob flavor brewing

If all expected commitments come through, the Michelob Championship could look a lot like this weekend's Ryder Cup matches.

Seven American players - Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Davis Love III, Mark O'Meara, Lee Janzen, Fred Couples, defending Michelob champion Scott Hoch - are expected at Kingsmill.

In addition, U.S. team captain Tom Kite and European team standout Nick Faldo are also expected at Kingsmill.

Azinger commitment only

deepens the player pool

Paul Azinger, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour who has battled back from cancer surgery in 1993 after it was discovered he had lymphoma in his right shoulder blade, has committed to play in the Michelob Championship.

Azinger is 77th on this year's PGA Tour money list.

Meanwhile, Dudley Hart, who is 50th on the latest money list, has committed as well, bringing the official number of top-50 players to commit to 19. Five other players in the top 50 - Love, Faldo, Kite, O'Meara and Janzen - have also verbally committed to tournament officials but have yet to sign the tournament's official sign-up list. They have until Oct. 3 to do so.

About those exemptions

Tournament director Johnnie Bender reports that the four sponsor's exemptions granted at the Michelob Championship will go to Williamsburg native Mark Carnevale, Richmonder Bobby Wadkins, Brian Claar and the top money winner on the Hooters Tour.

Michelob is a major sponsor of the Hooters Tour. Claar is on the Michelob Championship's PGA Tour Charity Team.

Others not automatically in the field who want to play can squeeze in by garnering one of four qualifying spots available in a Monday, Oct. 6, qualifier at nearby Ford's Colony. The qualifier is run by the Mid-Atlantic PGA. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Carl Paulson

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