This Week

December 16-22

Australia
Schweppes Coolum Classic, Hyatt Coolum Resort, Sunshine Coast,
Queensland
A field of 114 pros will tee it up in pursuit of $190,000 in
prize money

Exhibition
Lexus Challenge, LaQuinta Resort and Club, LaQuinta, Calif.
Randy (Dead Solid Perfect) Quaid and Kevin (Tin Cup) Costner try
Method acting in reverse

Exhibition
Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, Reflection Bay Golf Club,
Henderson, Nev.
Hale Irwin, Fred Couples and Se Ri Pak lead teams from their
tours in an event taped for TV

Australasian Tour
Wanted: Win & Tonic At the Schweppes

Craig (Popeye) Parry, 32, is a three-time Australian Masters
winner and has more worldwide victories (14) than Kenny Perry
and Chris Perry combined. Though he has notched four top 10s in
'98, Parry has nary a victory. This week he'll search for the
winning tonic at the Schweppes Coolum Classic in Sunshine Coast,
Queensland, where he's the defending champ. Stuart Appleby,
Peter Senior and Peter Lonard are also scheduled to compete at
Hyatt Coolum Resort, where Parry ended a solid '97 season in
which he also won the Japan and Indonesia Opens. Ranked 51st in
the world, the Presidents Cupper could qualify for one of the 64
spots in the World Match Play Championship at La Costa, Calif.,
in February. That may be one of only about 15 Stateside events
he plays in '99. After entering at least 20 Tour events for five
consecutive years, Parry played in only 16 this year, opting
instead to spend more time in Sydney so that his six-year-old
daughter, April, could attend school in her native country.
GOLF CHANNEL, FRIDAY, 8 PM; SATURDAY, 10 PM

Lexus Challenge
Seniors Get a Boost From Tin Cup, Rocket

Kevin Costner's opening-round eagle was the highlight of last
year's Lexus Challenge, and he didn't even have to splash a
dozen balls into a pond first. On the first day of the
better-ball competition, which pairs a dozen Senior tourists
with a dozen celebs of all ages, the celluloid Cinderella of Tin
Cup fame jarred his third shot on the par-5 17th. "I was just
happy it didn't go in the bunker," said Costner (above), who is
a 14 handicap. "Then I heard the crowd roar." The event, now in
its fourth season, is a mix of screen stars (Sean Connery, Randy
Quaid, Joe Pesci), pro jocks (Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey Jr.,
Alberto Tomba) and golf pros (host Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin,
Gary Player), not all of whom are just happy to be there. "It
was a dogfight out there," said Clemens of the '97 tournament,
in which he and Gil Morgan succumbed to Floyd and actor William
Devane. Even Tiger Woods stopped by to watch, but he won't be
playing in the Challenge anytime soon. Says Floyd, "He's not old
enough to get into this field."
NBC, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 4 PM

COLOR PHOTO: JACQUELINE DUVOISIN [Kevin Costner golfing]