This Week

PGA Tour
Say, This Place Looks Awfully Familiar

This week Casey is idle, so another five-letter, four-wheel force reclaims pole position on the Tour: Buick. Mark O'Meara defends his title at the Buick Invitational in San Diego, not to be confused with the Buick Classic, the Buick Open or the Buick Challenge—all later in the season. San Diego's second-biggest sporting event this year boasts the winners of every tournament so far ( Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Jesper Parnevik and El Ni�o), nine of the top 14 money leaders from 1997 and six new skyboxes (priced at $750 to $15,000), on the 15th and 18th holes. Late last week, Tiger Woods committed to play at Torrey Pines for the first time since turning pro. The purse jumps to $2.1 million from $1.5 million.
? NBC, SATURDAY, 3 PM, AND SUNDAY, 2:30 PM

Senior Tour
All Hail the King, Or All Hale?

What does LG stand for? Tournament organizers anticipate a Large Gallery of Long-Toothed Gents because this year Arnie's Army is going to march. When Palmer announced on Jan. 15 that he would be playing in this year's LG (Localized Globalization) Championship after a six-year hiatus, the Naples, Fla., sheriff's department feared that Bay Colony Golf Club would be overrun by senior spectators, and for good reason. A quarter of Collier County residents are more than 65.

This year's field, featuring all eight of the tournament's former champions, is playing for a $1.2 million purse (up from $1 million in 1997). Arnie, 68, is a long shot to unseat last year's winner Hale Irwin, especially considering the King's last victory came at the 1988 Crestar Classic, and his best finish in the 13 events he played last season was 32nd at the Northville Long Island Classic. Still, fans will still flock to see the Lord of the Gerontocracy.
? ESPN, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 5:30 PM

European Tour
Els Might Win In His Sleep

Two days after South Africa's Ernie Els won his second U.S. Open last June, he slept through a call from South Africa's president, Nelson Mandela. They eventually spoke—"I get goose bumps when I talk to him," Els says—and the next week he won the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club to become the first South African to reach No. 1 in the World Ranking.

Be forewarned, because this week the Big Easy may be feeling drowsy again. He's coming off European tour stops in Thailand (the Johnnie Walker Classic) and Australia (the Heineken Classic) and is gearing up for a trip to the United Arab Emirates (the Dubai Desert Classic) before heading back to the States for the PGA Tour's Florida swing. A victory in Johannesburg and a slap on the back from a certain prominent spectator would be sure to give him goose bumps. Vijay Singh defends at Durban Country Club.
?GOLF CHANNEL, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 9 AM

off course
They're Having a Super Time at the Supers' Show

LOOKING FOR A CHANCE to take a seminar on advanced weed management or localized dry spots or protecting natural resources on the golf course? They are among the 85 (15 of them new) offered at the 69th Golf Course Superintendents Association of America International Conference and Show, which opened on Monday for a weeklong run at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you can't make it to the show in person, and more than 22,000 are expected to be on hand, check out the association's trivia tour on the Internet at www.gcsaa.org and bring new meaning to surf and turf.