Seve: I Get No Respect

In the September issue of Golf Magazine, Seve Ballesteros zings
the European tour officials and players who first disqualified
him from May's Italian Open and then fined him £5,000 for
refusing to accept a slow-play penalty. "It is very sad. I was
treated with disrespect," Ballesteros tells Golf's Peter Kessler.
"It was hard to sleep, and I cried because the players' committee
judged me without regard for the big picture and my contributions
to the European tour."

Matt Kuchar, wallowing at 162nd on the Tour's money list,
recently teed it up at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with
Carlton Forrester, his best friend and former teammate at Georgia
Tech. Kuchar shot an even-par 72, but lost $50 when Forrester, an
investment advisor at Credit Suisse First Boston, shot a
course-record 63. "I'll use the money to buy Matt a present for
his wedding in October," says Forrester, who is scheduled to play
in next week's U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club outside
Pittsburgh.

In preparation for the Amateur and the 2007 U.S. Open, 1,000
mature pine and oak trees have been removed from Oakmont, and the
course has been lengthened by 300 yards, to a beastly 7,229.

After three-putting his final hole on Saturday at the Nationwide
tour's Omaha Classic, Bo Van Pelt learned that his
eight-month-old son, Tyler, had a 104 temperature and needed to
be rushed to a hospital. On Sunday, Tyler's fever having been
brought under control, Van Pelt made two eagles and shot a
10-under 62 to get his first Nationwide win and celebrate his
fourth wedding anniversary in style.

THE POLL
VOTE AT GOLFONLINE.COM

THIS WEEK: Which 2003 major was the best: the Masters, the U.S.
Open, the British Open or the PGA?

LAST POLL: Who is the player of the year so far in 2003: Jim
Furyk, Davis Love III, Kenny Perry, Mike Weir or Tiger Woods?

Furyk....27%
Weir......18%
Love.....11%
Woods...26%
Perry....18%

--Based on 7,970 responses to our informal survey