POTOMAC -- Ben Crenshaw got his first look at the Tournament Players Course at Avenel yesterday and later said not only that he enjoyed the holes but also that the course couldn't be in better shape.
Crenshaw couldn't compare conditions with those for previous tournaments, but his comments still will be welcomed by Kemper Open officials, who spent the past year in an improvement program that included bunker modification and tree planting to give the course greater definition.
Crenshaw, who had not made a Washington appearance since the 1976 PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club, used his architectural knowledge in talking about the 6,917-yard layout, which has been the target of criticism in the past, including references to it as a "moonscape" and a wish that at least one hole be blown up.
"There are a lot of risk-reward scenarios," Crenshaw said. "I like its playability, the routing is good, and there is a lot of variety in the holes. For instance, they worked the creek in beautifully. It is on the left [on some holes], the right, and it crosses the fairway.
"It's strategic architecture. If there is trouble on one side, the closer the player gets to that feature -- bunker, creek, whatever -- the more he is rewarded with a good approach for his second shot. He has an easier angle toward the green than the one who plays it safer and gets a much tougher angle for his second shot.
"It's in contrast to a lot of courses that play like kicking a field goal. They give you a path 40 yards wide with no risk, no reward. You just get out and just go."
Crenshaw said he has skipped the Kemper in the past mainly because of schedule conflicts. This time, it fit in, since he has to qualify (for the first time since 1974) for the U.S. Open on Monday at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville and since he wants to play in a few events going into the Open.
"I've wanted to come see the course and play, but it [the Kemper] usually has followed my playing about four, five weeks in a row."
* A two-time tour winner this season, Corey Pavin ("I'm very tired"), heads a list of four withdrawals. The others are John Cook (injured hand), Dan Halldorson (illness) and Bob Lohr, who tied for second at the Colonial on Sunday and left immediately for his home in Orlando, Fla. His wife, Marie, in the middle of a pregnancy, has been ordered to bed by her doctor. "I need to be with her," Lohr said.
