A New Queen For The King

On Oct. 16, a day before shooting better than his age (a 73 at
74) for the first time this year, at the SBC Championship in San
Antonio, Arnold Palmer went public with the news that he'd
recently popped the question to Kit Gawthrop, 65, of Tiburon,
Calif. Palmer and Gawthrop have not yet set a date. Palmer's
first wife, Winnie, died in 1999.

If Esteban Toledo falls out of the top 125 on the Tour's money
list by $8,320 or less--he's 123rd with $487,495--he'll blame a
blunder at the Funai Classic. On Sunday, Toledo was DQ'd from the
tournament for taking an improper drop during the second round,
causing him to forfeit the $8,320 he would have made for
finishing 63rd.

Two years ago Oprah Winfrey gave up golf after taking a two-hour
lesson during which her teacher never allowed her to hit a single
ball. Winfrey, though, recently tried again, with Laird Small,
the director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy. (The lesson was
taped and is scheduled to be shown on The Oprah Winfrey Show on
Nov. 3.) After 30 minutes on the range, Small took Winfrey to the
18th tee at Pebble to continue the session during a one-hole
scramble with Clint Eastwood and his wife, Dina. "Oprah was so
nervous on the tee that she was shaking," says Small, "but she
hit a nice shot and cleared the ocean. Oprah has tremendous
spirit and could become a good player."

Sandy Lyle, 45, has won the Masters, the British Open and 21
other titles, but beginning in 2004 he'll have no playing
privileges on any tour for the first time in 25 years. Having
finished 145th on the European money list and having used up his
exemptions in the U.S. and Europe for career accomplishments,
Lyle, who doesn't plan to go to either tour's Q school, will need
sponsors' exemptions to get into events.

THE POLL
VOTE AT SI.COM/GOLF

THIS WEEK: Should the Presidents and Ryder cups be combined into
a three-team event, in which the Presidents winner plays the last
Ryder champ, with the victor getting a bye into the next Ryder
and the loser returning to the Presidents?

LAST POLL: Who gets your vote for player of the year: Tiger
Woods, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Jim Furyk or Davis Love III?

WOODS...64%
WEIR....16%
LOVE....8%
FURYK...6%
SINGH...6%

--BASED ON 7,748 RESPONSES TO OUR INFORMAL SURVEY