Gary Player

From a former soybean farm and forest a splendid golf course was laid out by the Gary Player Design Co., and the result has been another gem in the crown of gold in the Ocean City area. That gem is called River Run.Originally conceived as a residential course, with the familiar groupings of detached single-family homes, semi-detached villas, townhouses and flats, River Run was opened in the spring of 1991 as a public course, thus available to anybody. It has attracted its share of tourists and vacationers, as well as loyal local players.

The 78 players who will tee off today in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship at Baltimore Country Club in Timonium are going to be facing one of the most challenging tests on the Champions Tour, on one of the more historic venues in the country while playing for the tour's biggest overall purse. But what exactly are they going after in the golf season's final major championship? Is it the satisfaction that comes from conquering the 7,003-yard course, the longest on the Champions Tour?

Hale Irwin and Gary Player, two of the most accomplished men in the history of golf, were added to the field for the 2005 Constellation Energy Classic yesterday. The Champions Tour event will be played Sept. 16-18 at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley. One of five players to win the U.S. Open as many as three times, Irwin, 60, has been the most dominant figure on the 50-and-over circuit. He has 42 wins on the Champions Tour, where no one else has 30; two have come this year. Wayne Levi held off a late Irwin charge in the 2004 Constellation Energy Classic.

MAMARONECK, N.Y.-- --The leader board was definitely worth a second look. This year's U.S. Open started like a flashback sequence. Colin Montgomerie at the top? Tiger Woods and David Duval neck and neck? What year was it exactly and does this mean there's a new Seinfeld episode on tonight? Our eyes weren't lying, though. That really was Monty leading the pack, and sure enough, Woods and Duval - Nos. 1 and 2 in the world in 1999 - enter today's second round one shot apart, both well off the early pace.

Hale Irwin is out, but Tom Kite has been added to a Constellation Energy Classic field that includes 20 of the top 25 money-winners on the Champions Tour. Irwin notched his 43rd victory among the 50-and-over set Sunday, at the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. After competing three straight weeks on the Champion Tour's just-concluded West Coast swing, the most successful player in tour history notified local organizers late Monday that a sore back would prohibit him from coming to Baltimore.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Gary Player has known Fultom Allem a long time."Since he was in diapers," Player said yesterday.One of Allem's earlier memories is watching one of golf's greatest players hitting balls on the farm his father and uncle owned in South Africa."

Whether it's a rare hole in one or top tournament honors, area golf courses have seen plenty of action in recent weeks. Among the highlights:* Judge S. Gerald Corso employed his trusty 9-iron to score a hole in one on the 156-yard 16th at Ocean Pines Golf Club. The handsome shot was witnessed by his son, Jerry Jr., as well as by guests John Devine and son John Jr.* The Second Annual Employees' Tournament was held over nine holes at River Run, and 32 players participated, enjoying the golf and then cocktails and dinner.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A three-club wind rocked players, produced some ridiculous scores and turned the first round of the PGA Seniors Championship into a golfing horror show yesterday.Gary Player and Larry Ziegler, each with a 69, were the only players to break 70. The average score was slightly more than 78, and more than one-third of the field shot 80 and up in winds that the National Weather Service said gusted to 30 mph.Players -- and the scores -- tended to disagree with that figure, however.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On the driving range, stories are a dime a dozen. Players will perpetually pause from their practice to spin a yarn to a caddie or a tournament volunteer, then return to their preparation. One man, however, always draws an audience. Gary Player is known for so many things - his prolific record, his all-black attire and his dry wit - and all of them are magnetic when he steps back from his bag and offers a tale. It doesn't matter if the entire joke was heard, because by the time Player hits the punch line - "But I don't want the six mother-in-laws!

News . . . but Mostly Views:Two more "sports," surfing and ballroom dancing, are looking ultimately to make it into the Olympic Games as medal events, being granted provisional recognition, and I say loudly and clearly: GOOD. The more the merrier.The Games, be they the Summer or Winter variety, simply aren't crowded enough at this point with just 34 medal sports on the menu. And besides, anyone who has been subjected to synchronized swimming or gymnastics, knows it's time for a little "Saturday Night Fever" and "Endless Summer."

Hale Irwin is out, but Tom Kite has been added to a Constellation Energy Classic field that includes 20 of the top 25 money-winners on the Champions Tour. Irwin notched his 43rd victory among the 50-and-over set Sunday, at the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. After competing three straight weeks on the Champion Tour's just-concluded West Coast swing, the most successful player in tour history notified local organizers late Monday that a sore back would prohibit him from coming to Baltimore.

Hale Irwin and Gary Player, two of the most accomplished men in the history of golf, were added to the field for the 2005 Constellation Energy Classic yesterday. The Champions Tour event will be played Sept. 16-18 at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley. One of five players to win the U.S. Open as many as three times, Irwin, 60, has been the most dominant figure on the 50-and-over circuit. He has 42 wins on the Champions Tour, where no one else has 30; two have come this year. Wayne Levi held off a late Irwin charge in the 2004 Constellation Energy Classic.

The state of Maryland has supposedly been in a drought this spring, but Allen Doyle said Hayfields Country Club shows no signs of thirst. "This course played hard and fast last year," said Doyle, who won the 2001 State Farm Senior Classic, held at Hayfields, in a three-hole playoff over Bruce Fleisher. "This year it looks a little softer and slower." Heavy rains last weekcultivated the conditions Doyle and the rest of the early arrivals experienced yesterday as they explored the campus in preparation for this weekend's Greater Baltimore Classic.

Blame it on the rain. A third consecutive sunny day yesterday, and maybe the organizers of the $1.45 million State Farm Senior Classic would have at least come close to their attendance goal of 100,000 for the weekend. "Getting the crowd that we got today under these conditions, one can only wonder what they would have been like if it was like it was Friday and Saturday," said Brian Thompson, the tournament's executive director. "Unfortunately, I can't think about that." Beneath overcast and drizzly skies, the tournament at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley still drew 20,000 spectators, bringing the weekend total to 70,000, but the event remained a rousing success in the eyes of fans, players, organizers and sponsors.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On the driving range, stories are a dime a dozen. Players will perpetually pause from their practice to spin a yarn to a caddie or a tournament volunteer, then return to their preparation. One man, however, always draws an audience. Gary Player is known for so many things - his prolific record, his all-black attire and his dry wit - and all of them are magnetic when he steps back from his bag and offers a tale. It doesn't matter if the entire joke was heard, because by the time Player hits the punch line - "But I don't want the six mother-in-laws!

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - By the time the U.S. Open returns to the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Tiger Woods likely will have played another tournament - or five - with the same kind of domination he showed in winning this year's Open by a record-shattering 15 strokes. Given that it could be another decade before the Open comes back to the Monterey Peninsula, and the fact that he has won three majors at age 24, Woods might be looking to surpass what many figured would be an unbreakable record - the 18 professional majors belonging to Jack Nicklaus.

Blame it on the rain. A third consecutive sunny day yesterday, and maybe the organizers of the $1.45 million State Farm Senior Classic would have at least come close to their attendance goal of 100,000 for the weekend. "Getting the crowd that we got today under these conditions, one can only wonder what they would have been like if it was like it was Friday and Saturday," said Brian Thompson, the tournament's executive director. "Unfortunately, I can't think about that." Beneath overcast and drizzly skies, the tournament at Hayfields Country Club in Hunt Valley still drew 20,000 spectators, bringing the weekend total to 70,000, but the event remained a rousing success in the eyes of fans, players, organizers and sponsors.

The state of Maryland has supposedly been in a drought this spring, but Allen Doyle said Hayfields Country Club shows no signs of thirst. "This course played hard and fast last year," said Doyle, who won the 2001 State Farm Senior Classic, held at Hayfields, in a three-hole playoff over Bruce Fleisher. "This year it looks a little softer and slower." Heavy rains last weekcultivated the conditions Doyle and the rest of the early arrivals experienced yesterday as they explored the campus in preparation for this weekend's Greater Baltimore Classic.

News . . . but Mostly Views:Two more "sports," surfing and ballroom dancing, are looking ultimately to make it into the Olympic Games as medal events, being granted provisional recognition, and I say loudly and clearly: GOOD. The more the merrier.The Games, be they the Summer or Winter variety, simply aren't crowded enough at this point with just 34 medal sports on the menu. And besides, anyone who has been subjected to synchronized swimming or gymnastics, knows it's time for a little "Saturday Night Fever" and "Endless Summer."