Pga

Reading Time: Two Minutes.Say the baseball season doesn't resume when the boys walk off the job later this week. It's finis, kaput, ended. No wild-card playoffs, World Series or baseball under the arcs halfway through the football season. Will all the individual marks gointo the record books or will they go the way of a game rained out in the fourth inning and rescheduled in its entirety?* What is Jim Speros' "ring of stars" proposal for Memorial Stadium supposed to do, put a hundred or so more patrons in the seats for an upcoming Blue & Silver game?

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y . - Given his reputation for accurate tee shots and a solid, if sometimes streaky, short game, Fred Funk would seem to have the right profile for a regular U.S. Open contender. His reputation hasn't translated into very much success on his Open record. In 15 appearances dating back to 1985, when he was still coaching at the University of Maryland, Funk has missed the cut eight times and has only one top-10 finish, a tie for seventh in 1993 at Baltusrol. His two previous trips to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club weren't very good - he missed the cut both in 1986 and 1995.

Preakness had its share of glitterati in attendance this year. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons , and his wife - and "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" reality show co-star - Shannon Tweed hung out in the Jockey Club, while "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey made the circuit in the Corporate Village, looking dapper in a cream blazer and fedora. Spacey's style was more on track than his handicapping. When caught at the betting window there, the actor was asked his pick in the next race (the No. 9)

Forty-one years ago, championship golfer Arnold Palmer persuaded a young Winifred Walzer to "Come on, walk with me to the next hole."Mr. Palmer's wife, Winnie, tells the story today half talking, half laughing at her husband's "pickup line" during a tournament in eastern Pennsylvania.Today, Winnie and Arnold Palmer are walking into another stage of their lives in a partnership with Lexington Furniture Industries Inc. The furniture company wanted to tap Arnie's popularity and Winnie's background in design to develop a winning line.

What: Byron Nelson ClassicSite: Irving, TexasSchedule: Today through SundayCourses: TPC at Las Colinas (6,899 yards, par 70) and Cottonwood Valley (6,846 yards, par 70)Purse: $1.8 million Winner'sShare: $324,000Television: USA (Today, Friday, 4-6 p.m.) and ABC (Saturday, 2: 30-4: 30 p.m., Sunday, 4-6 p.m.)Pub Date: 5/15/97

Selected leaders in clubhouse ... Mark Calcavecchia 79-68-138 -6 Justin Leonard 72-66-138 -6 Rich Beem 72-66-138 -6 Retief Goosen 69-69-138 -6 Pierre Fulke 72-68-140 -4 Kenny Perry 73-68-141 -3 Chris Riley 71-70-141 -3 Jim Furyk 68-73-141 -3 ... and top incomplete rounds Fred Funk -7 through 13 Tiger Woods -3 through 16 Scores. [Page 8c]

Ellis M. Woodward, a World War II bomber pilot who recounted in a 1998 book how his squadron of 12 planes was attacked by a secret German Luftwaffe unit called the Storm Group while returning from a daylight bombing mission over Germany, died from complications of a stroke Monday at his Rodgers Forge home. He was 84. After the war, he became a stockbroker in Baltimore and founded a company in Timonium to market golf gloves he designed. Mr. Woodward was born and raised in New Orleans. His college studies at Tulane University were interrupted when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941.

BETHESDA -- Greg Norman is used to making headlines as the world's No. 1 ranked golfer, but after the last few days, can the supermarket tabloids be far behind? First there was the verbal confrontation Saturday with one of the starters at last week's Kemper Open. Then there was the obscene gesture Norman allegedly made toward a fan during Sunday's final round.And, oh yes, he took his family to the White House to visit President Clinton and purchased a jet plane for a reported $64 million.