Capt. Ballesteros Has Mutiny on Hands

That hot breeze that’s bending those Ryder Cup flagsticks in Sotogrande, Spain? Yes, it’s the familiar breath of controversy, but this time it’s coming from a different direction. This time it’s Europe’s problem.

If Curtis Strange was a controversial captain’s pick to the U.S. team by Lanny Wadkins in 1995, the way things are going for

Seve Ballesteros, there just might be a few new cracks in nearby Gibraltar any day now.

Two days after taking fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin off the European team and adding Jose Maria Olazabal, Ballesteros added Nick Faldo and Jesper Parnevik as captain’s choices, as expected. Meanwhile, Martin has pushed forward with his threat to sue in order to reclaim the spot he earned playing on the European PGA Tour.

That wasn’t expected, and Ballesteros isn’t happy with Martin.

“He was not welcome before, do you think he will be welcome now?” Ballesteros said just before he announced his two captain’s picks.

“That little man? He can’t stop the Ryder Cup. Lawyers can only do so much. He’s like a machine-gunner shooting in all directions. He is trying to be a hero for a week. We would be out of our minds to change the decision.

“He has only been thinking of himself. He’s like a kamikaze going for the ship.”

Doesn’t sound too conciliatory, does it?

Martin, who is healing from wrist surgery, appealed to the European Ryder Cup committee and said he would go to court if that failed, which is something he should count on.

“We are informed it is very unlikely that an injunction [to stop the matches] would be successful,” said Ken Schofield, executive director of the PGA European Tour.

The Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 26-28 at Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande.

Martin hasn’t played since July 18. He had the surgery on his wrist Aug. 5 and Ballesteros happily bounced him from the team Tuesday when Martin refused to play 18 holes to prove he was physically able.

Martin has no Ryder Cup experience, whereas Olazabal has played four times. That couldn’t have as much to do with Ballesteros’ decision as Martin’s wrist, could it? Nah.

NO HURRY

Jim Colbert is going to start practicing again next week, which means he’s going to be back on the Senior PGA Tour . . . well, how about 1998?

Colbert, 56, who underwent surgery for prostate cancer June 23, is taking a wait-until-next-year stance about playing again.

“I doubt seriously I’ll come back this year,” he said. “I just have to make sure I get in the right physical shape again. I can’t affect anything happening out there anyway.”

Colbert, a two-time senior tour leading money winner and two-time player of the year, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week. He reported no residual problem with his prostate surgery.

“I feel fine,” he said. “My only problem hitting balls was, my back was getting sore. I didn’t think of the prostate surgery. I didn’t give it a second thought.”

Even if Colbert doesn’t play on the senior tour again this year, he may accept a sponsor’s invitation to play on the PGA Tour at the Las Vegas Invitational, Oct. 22-26. Colbert said his reluctance to return to the tour full time was prompted by seeing Arnold Palmer’s labored performance at the Masters three months after he’d had prostate surgery.

“Arnold came back too fast,” Colbert said. “Seeing that and really thinking about what I wanted to do, well, I’d love to have a shot at the money title again--next year.”

TIGER UPDATE

Let’s play “What if?” In the last three majors, Tiger Woods played 10 holes at 24 over par. What if the Masters champion hadn’t done that? Oh, we can only imagine.

The ugly facts are that he had three double bogeys at the U.S. Open, two triple bogeys and a quadruple bogey at the British Open and four double bogeys at the PGA.

“Overall, he’s learned a lot,” said Hughes Norton, Woods’ agent at IMG. “If he’s one thing, he’s smart.”

And if he’s two things, you can add rich. In the 52 weeks since Woods turned pro, he played 25 events on the PGA Tour and won six times--four this year. Add it up and Woods has won $2,740,514--an average of $109,620 each time he played a tournament.

Woods is only $50,080 away from becoming the first player to earn $2 million in a single season.

“I remember when he turned pro and everyone was wondering if he could average, what, $20,000 so he could earn his card,” Norton said. “It’s the most astounding thing I’ve ever seen. And he’s doing it all even though he’s never played most of the courses before.”

Woods’ off-season schedule includes a three-day Nike junket to Japan, a week off, then the PGA Grand Slam Cup in Hawaii, then the Skins Game--if he’s asked, which he certainly will be.

MORE TIGER

Woods, who is playing in the Canadian Open, said he would like to design courses.

“After I play worldwide, I’ll see how I can put my personality on the ground and design a course,” he said. “I just haven’t played enough yet.”

What kind of course would Woods design? Probably something to suit him, like 600-yard par-fives with no out of bounds and you can still reach the green even if you hit it on the wrong fairway.

OH, BROTHER

David ($255,889) and Kevin ($379,707) Sutherland have done pretty well on the PGA Tour this year. Their prize money total of $635,596 is the most by two brothers since Bobby ($206,503) and Lanny Wadkins ($651,495) earned $857,998 in 1991.

Neither Sutherland has won this year. The last brothers to win on the PGA Tour in the same year? Curt and Tom Byrum in 1989.

RANKINGS

USC is rated 18th in one preseason men’s collegiate golf poll. Oklahoma State is No. 1 and Clemson No. 2. Brad Elder of Texas, the Jack Nicklaus college player of the year in 1996-97, is a unanimous choice as the top men’s golfer.

The UCLA women’s team is ranked fourth, behind Pacific 10 Conference opponents Arizona State, Arizona and Stanford. Marisa Baena of Arizona is No. 1 in the individual rankings and UCLA has Sophie Sandolo at No. 6 and Amandine Vincent at No. 8.

TOUGH TRIO

Three Ryder Cup players--Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson and Tom Lehman--will represent the PGA Tour in the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge at Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson, Nev. The event, which will be televised Dec. 20-21 on ABC, benefits the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

EAGLE HAS LANDED

For what it’s worth, when Scott Hoch won the Greater Milwaukee Open last Sunday with a 60-foot eagle chip shot, it was the first PGA Tour event won with an eagle since Clarence Rose did it in a playoff at last year’s Sprint International.

Hoch has won at least one tournament for four consecutive years. The active leader in that department is Greg Norman with six, but Palmer and Jack Nicklaus hold the record with 17.

BACK TO BROOKSIDE

The Pasadena City Women’s golf tournament, which has been won by such players as Babe Zaharias and Betty Hicks, will be played Oct. 7-9 and, for the first time in 25 years, at Brookside Golf Course. Millie Stanley, Sylvia Kim, Joan Higgins, Dixie Eckes and Linda Olsen are among the favorites.

Entry deadline is Sept. 26. Details: (213) 254-4653.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

Ken Conant of Sierra La Verne Country Club in San Dimas won the Southern California PGA Section championship by one shot over defending champion Kelly Manos of Big Canyon Country Club and Bob Madsen of Singing Hills Country Club at Mission Hills. Conant earned exemptions into the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the Nissan Open, the Buick Invitational and the Nike Inland Empire Open. . . . The fourth Mighty Ducks of Anaheim tournament will be played Monday at Coyote Hills Golf Club in Fullerton. Hockey players, coaches, broadcasters and front-office personnel will play in the event, which benefits Disney GOALS. Details: (714) 940-2910.

Three of California’s best amateur golfers--Mark Johnson of Helendale, Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys and Casey Boyns of Pacific Grove--make up the California team for the USGA men’s state team tournament Sept. 16-18 at SunRidge Canyon Golf Club in Fountain Hills, Ariz. Johnson, 43, was the 1996 California State Amateur champion. Steinberg, 39, recently won his fourth SCGA Amateur championship. Boyns, 41, is a two-time California State Amateur champion (1989, 1993) and a two-time Northern California Golf Assn. Amateur champion (1987, 1996). . . . The first Jimmie Heuga golf invitational will be played Sept. 29 at Ojai. The event benefits multiple sclerosis research. Skier Heuga won the bronze medal in the slalom at the 1964 Olympics. Details: (800) 646-5359.

John Hardy of Alisal Ranch is the winner of the Southern California section of the PGA of America award for golf pro of the year.

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Major Accomplishments

A look at the only golfers to make the cut at all four majors this year:

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Golfer M US B PGA To Par Money Justin Leonard T7 T36 Win 2 -11 $790,928 Davis Love III T7 T16 T10 Win -10 $629,371 Tiger Woods Win T19 T24 T29 -6 $548,903 Tom Lehman T12 3 T24 T10 E $303,110 Jim Furyk T28 T5 4 T6 +3 $335,245 Ernie Els T17 Win T10 T53 +4 $550,145 Colin Montgomerie T30 2 T24 T13 +7 $344,607 Tom Kite 2 T68 T10 5 +10 $443,057 Jesper Parnevik T21 T48 T2 T45 +11 $297,437 Lee Westwood T24 T19 T10 T29 +13 $111,095 Tommy Tolles 3 T5 69 T13 +13 $307,539 Fred Couples T7 T52 T7 T29 +14 $167,471 Stuart Appleby T21 T36 T20 T61 +21 $72,351 Mark O’Meara T30 T36 T38 T13 +23 $78,378 Frank Nobilo 46 T36 T10 T29 +28 $76,193 Vijay Singh T17 T77 T38 T13 +29 $92,175

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KEY: M-Masters; US-U.S. Open; B-British Open.Researched by Houston Mitchell