The Week Feb. 15-21

--Alley Cat
Move over, Ben. After 265 starts without a victory, Kirk
Triplett got it right at Riviera.

--Island Fever
Betsy King, winner of the Hawaiian Open, has victories on Kauai,
Maui and now Oahu.

--Loosey Brucey
Kite, Wadkins, Watson? With two wins already, Fleisher has that
entry beat.

--Auss(ie)ome
After a W at the Australian Open, Karrie Webb goes for three
straight in this week's Masters.

PGA Another number that Triplett will never have to hear
again: He had been the career money leader, with $4.27 million,
among players who hadn't won on Tour. Now that distinction
belongs to Craig Parry ($3.44 million).... So, who is the exempt
player with the most starts without a single win? Jay Delsing is
0 for 435, Brad Fabel 0 for 389 and Jim Carter 0 for 291....
Tiger Woods came in 18th, his worst finish since he was 37th at
the Sprint International last August.... Call it the Brian Watts
Rule. The PGA of America no longer requires a player to have
been born in the U.S. to qualify for the Ryder Cup. He now needs
only to have become a citizen before his 18th birthday. Watts
was born in Canada but was naturalized, along with his parents,
when he was 16.... David Duval has fired caddie Mitch Knox, who
earned about $800,000 in 2 1/2 years on Duval's bag, and replaced
him with Greg Rita.

LPGA About 40 players from the Hawaiian Open couldn't get into
the Australian Masters--the tournament takes only 50 players
from the LPGA, based on last year's money list--so they're
chillin' in Hawaii, waiting for next week's Takefuji Classic in
Kona.... The 44-year-old King's last victory came in the 1997
Dinah Shore.

SENIOR David Casper, the 26-year-old son of Billy, has pleaded
guilty to two robbery-related charges in Las Vegas and faces up
to 40 years in prison. He will be sentenced on March 29.

ALSO Gary Orr of Scotland eagled the 72nd hole of the Portuguese
Open in Penina to beat Phillip Price by a stroke and win for the
first time on the European tour.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN W. MCDONOUGH Midas touch Karsten Solheim, whose revolutionary Ping irons and putters changed the face of the golf industry (page G17), died on Feb. 16 in Phoenix. He was 88.

UP and Down

West Coast Florida
Kirk Triplett Tiger Woods
WGC Match Play Kirk Triplett
Hawaiian vacations Australian Ladies Masters
LASIK Glasses