Divot Mix

“Tim Finchem called me up, and I thought, `What have I done now?' He said they were going to put me in the Hall of Fame. I thought he was pulling my leg.” -- Charlie Sifford

John Deere Classic goes pink

Although John Deere and golf are usually associated with the color green, the John Deere Classic will have a Think Pink charity program for 2005. The program will benefit the battle against breast cancer, while acknowledging the efforts of the tournament's 1,500 volunteers.

During this year's tournament, volunteers will wear pink shirts to draw attention to the Think Pink breast cancer program benefiting Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities. The event is July 4-10 at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

"The Think Pink breast cancer program is a way to support the very important work Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities is doing with cancer victims and their families, 60 percent of whom are dealing with breast cancer issues," said Pam Anderson, chairperson of the 2005 John Deere Classic and the first woman ever to hold the position. "And, by having our 1,500 volunteers wear pink shirts while they work at this year's event, we hope to bring attention to the fact that over the years their efforts have helped the tournament raise more than $10 million for worthy regional charities since 1993."

On April 9, members of the John Deere Classic Board wore pink shirts when they participated in a 5K run benefiting the Susan B. Komen Foundation.

Individuals and corporate donors can make donations in any amount to the tournament's Birdies for Charity Program by including a memo on the check designating Think Pink or Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities as the beneficiary, according to tournament director Clair Peterson.

Donors who contribute $10,000 receive four Trophy Suite Club passes for tournament rounds, parking passes, unlimited food and beverage, recognition in tournament publications, sponsor boards, etc. Those donate $1,500 will receive name recognition in tournament publications, signs at the volunteer packet pick-up site, and a listing on the Think Pink sponsor board. The deadline to participate is June 1.

"We are very excited about the Think Pink program because it recognizes the enormous effort of our tournament volunteers have made to help raise millions for charity while it directly helps Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities," Peterson said. "It is a great program all around." Contact the tournament office at (309) 762-4653 or Gilda's Club at (563) 326-7504.

The tournament has also extended a sponsors exemption to 15-year-old amateur Micelle Wie, which she has accepted. The event will mark the third time she has played on the PGA Tour, but the first on the U.S. mainland. Her two previous starts were in her home state of Hawaii. For more on the invitation, visit http://www.pgatour.com/story/8376787.

CBS to air "Golf's Greatest Generation"

CBS Sports will air "PGA Tour: Golf's Greatest Generation, a one-hour special that looks at the epic showdowns of the 1970s, Saturday, April 16, at 2 p.m. EDT, prior to the third round of the MCI Heritage.

Golf course gets air drop

When a golf course is near a military airfield, it's inevitable that golf and golfers will get involved with airplanes. But what happened this week at Sunnyvale Golf Course is a little unusual.

The course is one of two supervised by Gary Carls, CGCS, GCSAA board member and operations supervisor for the City of Sunnyvale, Calif., near San Francisco.

Carls said Moffett Field isn't particularly busy, because it's been deactivated, but it's the longest runway in the bay area and a secure field. So when the President visits, Air Force 1 lands there. He said it is also home to NASA's Ames Research Center.

This week, however, an Air National Guard unit was practicing the delivery of life rafts in a rescue mission. They were dropping orange duffel bags filled with rags.

According to a story by Elise Ackerman in the San Jose Mercury News, the aircrew was about 45 seconds away from Moffett, preparing to drop the duffel, when the wind shifted and scooped the bag out of the open bay. The bag landed in the middle of the 16th fairway.

Carls said, "I didn't see myself, because I was in my office. My crew called and said the Moffett Field people were out looking for something. Some golfers actually picked it up and called the pro shop. Fortunately no one got hurt."

Although part of the course is actually on 35 acres leased from Moffett Field, and there are landing lights across two fairways, the orange bag didn't land on that part of the course.

The incident did bring Sunnyvale a little notoriety, Carls said. "We actually made the evening news on the local San Francisco ABC TV station. They didn't get a picture of the bag, but news helicopter flew over the course and shot footage to go with their story."

For the Mercury story, visit http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11372868.htm. (Free registration required)

Tour wives launch fundraiser

The PGA Tour Wives Association is launching its "Giving Through Golf" fundraising initiative at this week's MCI Heritage at the Sea Pines Resort at Harbortown Golf Links. The association is selling multi-colored wristbands for $1 each to generate funds to support various charities.

The wristbands will be sold at all concession areas during the tournament from April 11-17. The wristbands come in two styles: multi-colored and a pink/green combination.

"We specifically wanted the wristbands to be multi-colored to represent the variety of charities we support in communities where our husbands compete," said Dory Faxon, president of the association. "The funds generated from wristband sales will be used to support charities that provide services to children and their families."

Look for the wristbands to be available at many future PGA Tour tournaments and at a soon to be announced Web site.

The PGA Tour Wives Association began in 1988 with the mission to support children and their families through charitable events and has raised more than $2 million.