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Only in Corning

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Posted: Monday May 29, 2000 12:09 PM

CORNING, N.Y. -- After coming to the Corning Classic for the past 11 years, I have found that there isn't any other stop like it on the LPGA schedule. This sleepy little town nestled in the Western Tier of the Empire State awakens every year just for the tournament. The fans are probably the most energetic and knowledgeable of those I see on tour. But then again, that's just one of the things you can find only in Corning.

Only in Corning do you have to dodge deer on the road if you have an early-morning tee time.

Only in Corning is there a shotgun start for the Wednesday pro-am whether it's hunting season or not.

THE SHAG BAG Canadian Liz Early celebrated her 30th birthday Saturday by shooting a 68 and making her first cut of the year. ... "I had that big puffy perm working back then," said Betsy King (who defeated Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and Kelli Kuehne in a playoff) about her picture on the sixth tee marker. The picture must have been a bad omen: King was three over on the hole. ... At 5' 2", Kuehne had little trouble sneaking underneath evergreen branches to find her drive on the final hole of regulation. Her (lack of) height also allowed her to find a hole to hide in when she double-bogeyed 18 to fall into a playoff. ... "If someone had told me at the beginning of the week that I was going to be in a playoff, I would have just chuckled and said, 'Yeah, right,'" claimed Goetze-Ackerman, who had only $3,000 in earnings coming into the event. ... Kenny Harms, Emilee Klein's husband and normally the caddie for the Senior PGA Tour's Hubert Green, had the week off and made the most of it. He worked for Goetze-Ackerman. ... Korean Mi Hyun Kim had plenty of reasons to be sobbing uncontrollably in the parking lot on Sunday. At nine under with a two-shot lead after two rounds, Kim, the 1999 Rookie of the Year, shot 11 over on the weekend and finished in a tie for 62nd. ... Sue Ginter recorded her second hole-in-one this year with a nine-iron on the 122-yard 15th hole. ... The caddies and players wore black ribbons to honor longtime LPGA caddies John "White Shoes" Kinike and Richard "Rickles" Kiwa , who both passed away in the last month.

Only in Corning do you come back to the clubhouse seven times during a round, giving the players a chance to stop and eat almost every half-hour.

Only in Corning can one debate if a "red hot" is better than a "white hot." The "hots" are hot dogs -- red is beef, white is pork. I had about six of each this week, about one for every time I passed the clubhouse.

Only in Corning can you find travel trailers parked alongside the 18th fairway.

Only in Corning do you see players tie Bounce fabric softener to the backs of their hats. No, this isn't some weird tribute. The scented sheet actually keep the nasty gnats away. The best explanation I've heard about why this works: Have you ever seen bugs in a dryer?

Only in Corning can Donna Wilkins make the cut and have a gallery to boot.

Only in Corning can Lori Atsedes, who grew up in nearby Ithaca, miss the cut and have a gallery to boot.

Only in Corning is a former caddie, Dave Allen, one of the tournament organizers.

Only in Corning can the caddies hit a shot and not get fined. Normally, caddies are never allowed to ever take a shot -- not on the range or even during a practice round. But on Tuesday of tournament week, the caddies hold a closest-to-the-hole contest on the 15th. The winner always gets to play in the pro-am the next year.

Only in Corning is the caddie shack sponsored by Off Track Betting. With most of the top 20 not playing, however, there wasn't a whole lot of action on the tournament.

Only in Corning do the caddies participate in an Otis Pool. The object is to pick the player who is going to shoot the worst score, which is easier to predict than the best score.

Only in Corning can the former champions find their pictures on tee markers. By the way, Donna Caponi still looks the same as when she won in 1980.

Only in Corning do the writers from the local paper, The Corning Leader, use walkie-talkies to communicate.

Only in Corning does my cell phone not work. Maybe that's why the newspaper writers use walkie-talkies.

Only in Corning do you have do dodge deer on the golf course.

Only in Corning does a restaurant, Karol's Gatehouse, open just for the tournament.

Only in Corning can you go to the Elbow Room. Actually located in Elmira, this hole-in-the-wall tavern is owned by Billy Cox, a childhood friend of Joe Sindelar Jr. Besides some interesting golf memorabilia, it's got chicken wings to die for.

Only in Corning can you see people spill beer on a table and then tilt the table so they don't lose a drop.

Only in Corning do the players have to stand in line to use the range. By far the smallest on the tour, only 11 players can use the range at one time. To alleviate this problem, I think they should implement the take-a-number system used at supermarket delis.

Only in Corning does the largest employer in town, Corning Glass, allow its workers to take off to volunteer at the tournament.

Only in Corning do players scheduled to participate in the Monday pro-am fly to the tournament in a private jet -- courtesy of the glass company.

Only in Corning do you have to pack winter and summer clothes for a tournament held on the last weekend in May.

Only in Corning do volunteers take apart the press room while writers are still working on deadline.

Only in Corning does the tournament director apologize and sincerely mean it.

Only in Corning do you have to dodge deer when you leave the course late at night.

Only in Corning.

Tom Hanson, a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated's Golf Plus section, caddies for Sara Sanders on the LPGA Tour. Click here to send him a question or comment.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

 

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