Bottom Lines

HALE IRWIN: "Gil Morgan has become a real pain." CASEY MARTIN:
"Now I realize what Tiger Woods deals with on a daily basis."
THE ODDS: Of the 25 million golfers in the U.S, only .001% are
PGA Tour pros. INFLATION: Whoever wins the 1998 British Open
will earn a cool half a mil, $81,500 more than Justin Leonard
took home just a year ago. THANKS, TIGER: The sales of Nike golf
shoes jumped 105% last year. The company's apparel sales were up
76%. YOU GO, GIRLS: Women make up less than a quarter of the
golfers in the U.S. but 31% of the new players. BYE-BYE, BEN:
Will Crenshaw improve as a TV commentator? We may never know. He
has left CBS. UNEQUAL PAY: The purse for the U.S. Women's Open
has jumped to $1.5 million, the biggest prize on the LPGA tour.
(The men's Open pays out $2.6 million.) JACK'S DREAM: "In time,"
Nicklaus says, "the Presidents Cup will mean more than the Ryder
Cup." Guess who's the captain of this year's U.S. team. LAURA
DAVIES: If she wins next month's Standard Register Ping for a
record fifth straight time, sponsors will donate $1 million to
charity and Davies will claim a $300,000 bonus on top of her
$127,500 first prize.