Golf

Triple Clown

Ian Baker-Finch, struggling to keep a foundering career afloat, got in way over his head last week when he told a London newspaper that Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus are "has-beens." Coming as they did on the eve of Palmer's final appearance in the British Open, Baker-Finch's remarks could not have been more ill-timed.

According to the Daily Mail, Baker-Finch, who by luck of the draw had been paired with Palmer at this year's Masters and with Nicklaus during the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, blew up when he learned that he was to play with Palmer again for the first two days at St. Andrews. "Why can't they put me out at seven in the morning and leave me alone to go on with it?" he was quoted as saying. "They're always putting me with the has-beens. My last three championships have been with Palmer, Nicklaus and now Palmer."

In what could be best described as damage control, Baker-Finch, who won the British Open in 1991 before slipping into a prolonged slump, later admitted that when it comes to has-beens, it takes one to know one. "When I'm down," he said, "I say some things, and the next day I regret what I said."

For Baker-Finch—who has missed the cut in nine of the 12 tournaments he has played this year and with-drawn from the other three—the week went from bad to worse. On his initial tee shot in the opening round, his visor blew off and he snap-hooked his ball out-of-bounds, an almost impossibly bad shot. The next day at the same tee he sliced his drive over the grandstand, sending it nearly as far in the opposite direction.

Although he didn't come close to making the cut, shooting 77-76, Baker-Finch was there to shake Palmer's hand at the end of Friday's round. And in his comments after the round, he continued to backpedal. " Wayne Grady and I have a joke," Baker-Finch said of his Australian mate who also has fallen on hard times. "Usually the guys we're playing with are not playing well, so we refer to ourselves as being in the has-been category. I don't mean Arnold or Jack. They're certainly not has-beens."

Amateur Hour

Not since the heyday of Bobby Jones has an amateur commanded the sort of attention shown 21-year-old Gordon Sherry during last week's British Open. In addition to stealing the spotlight from Tiger Woods, Sherry, a 6'8", 252-pound biochemistry major entering his final year at Stirling University in Scotland, outplayed Greg Norman and Tom Watson in the first two rounds when they were his partners, made a hole in one during a practice round with Nicklaus and, after contending in the early going, finished nine strokes back of John Daly and second among amateurs, behind England's Steven Webster. Not bad for an Open rookie. Many of the players made it a point to take a look at Sherry, who tied for fourth in the Scottish Open two weeks ago and, as reigning British Amateur champion, will make his U.S. debut at next year's Masters. They came away impressed. "There's a lot of Ernie Els in him," said Norman. "I think we've seen the arrival of golf's next superstar."

Several management companies are betting on that being the case. Carnegie Sports International, a firm that has an affiliation with Jack Nicklaus's Golden Bear Sports Management and has players such as David Feherty and Sam Torrance under contract, appears to have the inside track. It doesn't hurt that Torrance's father, Bob, is Sherry's coach. Last week Sherry spent three evenings as a guest at Carnegie Sports' rented home in St. Andrews. One night he even played the part of host, pouring wine for partygoers.

Although Sherry must remain an amateur in order to play in the Masters, he already has a head for numbers. "I've always said I'll finish my degree," he maintained last week, "but heck, look at what I'm down. I missed out on 30,000 pounds at the Scottish and look what I would have made here [�7,050, or $11,280]. I'm not motivated by money, but that would have been nice for my parents."