FRENCH OPEN SERVES UP CASH EQUALITY

Organisers of the French Open tennis tournament have dragged the event into line with the

Australian and US Opens by offering both men and women competitors equal prize money. The

head of the French Tennis Federation, Christian Bimes, also confirmed the event will now run to

an extra day, as of next year.With the event now due to start on the Sunday – rather than the

traditional Monday – it is hoped TV audience figures and attendance revenues will rise. It

leaves just Wimbledon of the four majors with prize money inequality.

Charles Reilly, Jr., talks about the recent U.S. Open tournament and the rich tennis history of the Main Line.

Every year the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York City attracts a large following of television viewers and newspaper readers. The big challenge for promoters of the sport is to convert these once-upon-a-time audiences into players or at least supporters of this Grand Old Game. But each September, I wonder if this annual championship will have a positive impact on its audiences or end up actually turning them off. For example, if you happened to drop in from Saturn or Mars to watch the 2005 Open, what would you see? Most of the time there would be two players standing in a relatively small space groaning in primal fashion every time their racquets hit the ball. This is excitement? I think not. Worse, some of the biggest personalities in tennis are among the worst offenders with their irritatingly every-stroke grunts. Not everyone is put off of course and tennis has fanatical fans everywhere including the Main Line (one friend has a license plate: 10S N E 1.) Although to be fair about this, even the most obsessed tennis buffs fall short of the madness exhibited by their sisters and brothers who play golf. Philadelphia has a glorious tennis history full of tradition going way back to the early 1900s when William Clothier, Senior, was the United States national singles champion. R. Norris (Dick) Williams, who like Clothier, played from the nearby Merion Cricket Club, followed as national champion prior to World War I. Not so incidentally, the Williams story should have been made into a motion picture. He was pulled from the freezing waters hours after the Titanic went down in the North Atlantic with both legs so severely injured they were prepared to amputate them in order to save his life.Williams fought back through pain, later served overseas with distinction in World War I and then returned to Philadelphia to resume his play and love of the game.Big Bill Tilden, playing out of the Germantown Cricket Club during the 1920s, was undoubtedly the world's finest player during the first half of the 20th century. There is a long list of champions from the Main Line including Dick Sorlien, Jim Schnaars and Vic Seixas.I have been involved with tennis as both a player and official for more than a half century, and during that period have seen the game evolve in dramatic ways. The technical advances in equipment and player conditioning are two of the most notable changes. With the ability to routinely hit a ball over 100 mph and the physical stamina to do just that for hours on end, the very nature of the game has changed. Wooden racquets and flowing court movement have given way to battering ram poundings accompanied by a lot of noise. Instead of a variety of shots and action from all around the court, the modern game is characterized by big serves, standing on the baseline pounding away at the ball with merciless grunting and groaning echoing throughout the concrete coliseums where big tournaments take place. Modern day tennis has all the charm of a metronome. Boredom has made us shift attention to what the players are wearing on their backs, turning the game into some sort of on court fashion show. Yet even in the doldrums there are islands where a touch of yesterday still exists. Recently, I was a spectator at the finals of the National Seniors Men's 45's and 50's Grass Court Championships at Germantown Cricket. To be sure, there have been changes here as elsewhere over the decades (The club's swimming pool now sits on the site where Tilden once had a private practice court.)But the essence of the gracious game of yesterday still hovers over the clubhouse and the great green lawn where play takes place.I suggest that you consider attending this tournament next year. You can enjoy the game up close in a charming historical setting. The players are uniformly open and friendly, the tennis itself is wonderful so the tradition is till alive if not all that well.I spoke to a long-time tennis official, a gentleman who was referee for countless tournaments a quarter-century ago. I asked him about the state of tennis around the country these days. He looked at me wistfully and said, "I think we had a bit more class back then."Fair enough, but isn't that true of our society in general? What's the answer? Darn if I know except to say that the United States Tennis Association has a lot of programs in place around our Main Line and elsewhere that bring young boys and girls into the game by combing skill training and an equally important emphasis on the good sportsmanship and personal court manners that used to symbolize the sport of tennis.Who knows? If they can eliminate the grunting from the game, the phoenix may yet rise.

A Sweet Victory For The Kiwi

Pinehurst, N.C. – This being NASCAR country, the folks around here are used to seeing plenty of thrills and spills.
That’s what the final round of the 2005 U.S. Open looked like: a race with pileups at every turn and enough dents to make an insurance adjuster go nuts. But in the end, one golfer navigated around the wreckage and through to the checkered flag. It just wasn’t the player most expected to cross the finish line first.
Michael Campbell, of New Zealand, who had not survived the weekend in his last four U.S. Open appearances and owned no top-10s in a major since the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews, navigated his golf game beautifully through every treacherous nook and cranny of the 7,214-yard, par-70 Pinehurst No. 2 layout on Sunday. His brilliant 1-under 69 gave him a two-stroke victory over world No. 1 Tiger Woods, making him the first player from his country to secure the U.S. Open title.

Hensby to play 'big three'

MARK Hensby has confirmed he will play in Australia's 'Big Three' golf tournaments later this year, including the Australian Open, which he has never before contested.Hensby said today that he would return home to tee up in the Australian PGA, Australian Open and Australian Masters.
The Tamworth, New South Wales-born player had already confirmed he would join fellow US PGA Tour-based Australians Peter Lonard and Robert Allenby in contesting the December 1-4 Australian PGA at Coolum.
But he has now indicated he will tee up in the Australian Open at Moonah Links from November 24-27.
Hensby, however, indicated there was one sticking point to him making a maiden Australian Open appearance.
"The AGU (Australian Golf Union) has asked (me to) play and I have said yes but a lot depends if I qualify for the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, which is being played the same week," he said.
"I am about fourth or fifth reserve at present but if I do qualify, I will be contesting the Nedbank Challenge - and for no other reason that it is a big event with huge world ranking points.
"But I really doubt I will qualify so I will play the Australian Open.
"It is sad to say but we have to play where we know we will get good world ranking points because this game is all about improving, and I need to improve my current world ranking."
Hensby looked set to contest his first Australian Open last year, but he revealed soon after finishing 11th in the AMEX Championship in Ireland that the AGU had not contacted him to invite him to The Australian Club in Sydney.
"I wanted to play the Australian Open so much last year, particularly after the year I had, but I want to travel to Moonah Links this year, whilst I will also contest the Australian PGA and the Australian Masters.
?So I will be in Australia later this year for all three major Australian tournaments, and I am very much looking for to it."
Hensby has this year been one of the best-performed Australians competing on the world stage, finishing fifth in his maiden US Masters appearance and then ending equal third behind New Zealand's Michael Campbell in the US Open.
A fortnight after the British Open, Hensby clinched a first-ever European Tour title with victory in the Scandinavian Masters in Sweden.

Australian Open schedule victim of overcrowded tennis calendar

MELBOURNE: A crowded international sports calendar has forced organisers to bring forward the dates of the 2007 Australian Open tennis tournament despite calls from players for a longer off-season, officials said on Tuesday. The 2007 Australian Open was originally scheduled to be held from January 22 to February 4 to give players a longer post-Christmas break before attempting their first Grand Slam competition of the year. But Tennis Australia said Tuesday the dates had reverted back to the traditional third and fourth weeks of the month, January 15 to 28. “When the international tennis community embarked on this process of looking at creating a longer off-season, moving the dates of the Australian Open was one option considered,” Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said. He said the decision on the dates would not be reconsidered for some time. The 2006 Australian Open will be held from January 16 to 29

Augusta National Golf Course Changes

Hootie Johnson, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced today changes to six holes, Nos. 1, 4, 7, 11, 15 and 17, for the 2006 Masters.
"Since the first Masters in 1934, this golf course has evolved and that process continues today," Johnson said. "As in the past, our objective is to maintain the integrity and shot values of the golf course as envisioned by Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie. Players' scores are not a factor. We will keep the golf course current with the times."
The changes on the first nine holes are:
Hole No. 1: Masters tee will be moved back 15-20 yards. Trees added to the left side of the fairway. Masters scorecard: Approximately 455 yards
Hole No. 4: Masters tee will be moved back 30-35 yards. Masters scorecard: Approximately 240 yards
Hole No. 7: Masters tee will be moved back 35-40 yards. Green re-grassed to create possible right-rear pin position. Trees added to the right and left side of the fairway. Masters scorecard: Approximately 450 yards
"At hole Nos. 1 and 7 we want to emphasize accuracy off the tee while continuing to maintain the integrity of the holes," Johnson said. "At No. 4 we want to keep the hole as it was intended to be played as a long par 3."
On the second nine the changes include:
Hole No. 11: Masters tee will be moved back 10-15 yards. Trees added to the right side of the fairway and fairway shifted to the left. Masters scorecard: Approximately 505 yards
Hole No. 15: Masters tee will be moved back 25-30 yards and shifted approximately 20 yards to the golfer's left. Masters scorecard: Approximately 530 yards
Hole No. 17: Masters tee will be moved back 10-15 yards. Masters scorecard: Approximately 440 yards
"The changes on the second nine holes again stress accuracy off the tee and maintaining shot values," said Johnson.
With the changes, the golf course yardage increases to approximately 7,445 yards (3,735 - 3,710) from 7,290.
Construction work began this month with completion scheduled for the fall.