Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Colbert to replace Nicklaus at Skins

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4089.

For the second time in a little more than two years, Jim Colbert is replacing a living legend.

Colbert, a Las Vegas resident and two-time Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year, will replace Jack Nicklaus in a made-for-TV golf event. Colbert will play in place of Nicklaus in the 1999 Senior Skins Game next weekend in Hawaii.

"It's bittersweet to be playing in place of Jack," Colbert said. "I know he would rather be in the field than facing surgery, but he's doing what's best for him.

"I am honored to take his place."

Nicklaus will undergo hip replacement surgery next Thursday in Boston and is expected to miss four to six months while he goes through rehabilitation.

Replacing Nicklaus is not exactly unfamiliar territory for Colbert. In late 1996, Colbert was a last-minute replacement for Nicklaus in the made-for-TV Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge at Lake Las Vegas.

At that time, Nicklaus cited recurring hip and back problems as the reason for his withdrawal from the charity event.

Colbert will be making his second appearance in the Senior Skins Game, which will be played Jan. 30-31 at Mauna Lani Resort. He won seven skins and earned $180,000, finishing second to Raymond Floyd in the 1996 event.

Colbert and Floyd will be joined in this year's Senior Skins Game by Arnold Palmer and Hale Irwin.

* CALLAWAY'S CUTS: Callaway Golf Company has cut the number of professional golfers who endorse its clubs by more than 40 percent as part of an $18 million reduction in its advertising and promotion budget, Sports Business Journal is reporting.

Among the 33 players Callaway is dropping from its staff of 79 tour professionals are two-time Las Vegas Invitational winner Jim Furyk and LPGA Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan.

* FRYATT REBOUNDS: Chris Riley wasn't the only former UNLV golfer to turn in a strong performance last weekend.

After a near-disastrous opening-round 75, Edward Fryatt shot 13 under par during the final three rounds of the Nike Tour's Lakeland Classic and finished tied for sixth place.

Fryatt, who earned $9,563 in his second Nike Tour event of the season, is 10th on the tour's money list with $11,199.

* STAR-STUDDED FIELD: Las Vegas native Robert Gamez, who received an invitation to play in this week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in La Quinta, Calif., will be in some good company.

Among the celebrities who will be competing in the pro-am portion of the tournament are Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Pete Sampras, Jerry Rice, Tom Glavine, Roger Clemens, Joe Pesci, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Bolton, Glenn Frey, Vince Gill and Alice Cooper.

* BRING A JACKET: The Mount Charleston Golf Resort is open for play and offering greens fees of $25 (Tuesdays through Fridays) for Clark County residents. The rate goes up to $35 on Saturdays and Sundays, but all local rates include a cart and as many holes as you can play on the nine-hole layout.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour returns to the mainland after two weeks in Hawaii for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic today though Sunday at four La Quinta, Calif.-area courses. Fred Couples beat Bruce Lietzke on the first hole of a playoff to win last year's tournament. ESPN will televise Thursday and Friday; ABC will handle coverage on the weekend. ...

The Senior PGA Tour is in Hawaii this weekend for the season-opening Mastercard Championship at Hualalai Golf Club. Gil Morgan is the defending champion; ESPN will televise Friday through Sunday. Jim Colbert is the leading money winner in the tournament's history with $347,567 in six tournaments. ...

The LPGA Tour is in Naples, Fla., for the inaugural Naples LPGA Memorial. The Golf Channel will televise all four rounds beginning Thursday.

archive