News And Notes

The Shark Hosts Clinton

Greg Norman may not have slept in the President's guestroom, but a President is going to sleep in Norman's. Last week White House officials confirmed that President Bill Clinton is scheduled to be an overnight guest of Norman's it his estate in Hobe Sound, Fla., on Friday while he partners with the Shark in a two-day member-guest tournament it Norman's home course, the Medalist Club in Hobe Sound, which Norman codesigned with Pete Dye.

The game has been afoot since Norman extended his invitation to President Clinton when they played a round at the New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney last November. Since then, says Norman, "we have communicated on almost a weekly basis. There's a really nice chemistry between us."

While virtually every player on the PGA Tour professes to be a staunch Republican, Norman says that the President's "middle of the road policies" don't offend his own conservative sensibilities. "I think we share some personality traits," Norman says. "We have a similar attitude toward life. I think he's a real man's man."

The Secret Service has been preparing for the President's visit for more than a month, rewiring some of the electrical and phone lines in Norman's home and doing background checks on Medalist employees. "It's a great honor, but it will be very low-key," says Norman. "The President wants to play golf, work out in my gym, putt on the green in my backyard, have a few cold beers and a couple of quiet dinners. He values occasions when he can be a regular guy."

Clinton has been assigned a 13 handicap for the member-guest, but the course is so difficult that some club members think the President, who claims he once broke 80 (box, left), could take a 15 handicap and still get buried.

Then again, Clinton should get all the help he needs from Norman, who will be playing the 7,159-yard course at the customary pro's handicap of scratch (level par). The tournament begins on Friday with a round of better-ball. Saturday's format is a scramble.

"The President has a good idea what he's doing on the golf course," says Norman. "He just needs to spend more time at it. He has the attitude and the aptitude for scoring." Let's see if the Shark's still saying that on Saturday night.

San Jose State's One-Two Punch

Four years ago, when Janice Moodie and Arron Oberholser were high school seniors looking for college scholarships, San Jose State wasn't their first choice, it was their only choice. Oberholser, from San Mateo, Calif., 20 miles north of San Jose, had won nothing more significant than a regional high school tournament. Moodie, from Glasgow, had six Scottish titles on her r�sum�, but they meant little to U.S. coaches. Both players wrote dozens of letters asking for scholarships, but Oberholser received only two offers, and San Jose State was the only school interested in Moodie.