Lee Trevino, a two-time champion, withdrew from the 1987 PGA Championship early Thursday morning because of a pulled muscle under his left ribcage.
He said his latest problem was due to a ”freak accident.”
”I tried to lift a heavy suitcase from the living room into the bedroom and hurt myself,” Trevino said. ”On Tuesday I could not hit the ball, and Wednesday I spent all day at the hospital or clinic.”
He was replaced by Mark Hayes in the 150-man field.
”The rough here is the kind I like, and it`s about the same as at Shoal Creek (Birmingham, Ala.), where I won the PGA Championship three years ago,” Trevino said.
Calvin Peete, who finished with a 75, also withdrew with a back injury.
Arnold Palmer might start a new hot-weather golf trend.
Palmer wore wrist bands on the back nine during the first round of the PGA Championship at PGA National. After going through six golf gloves on the front nine in the 93-degree heat, Palmer sent Ed Seay, his partner in golf course designing, to the pro shop to buy the wrist bands. The pro shop didn`t have any, so he went to the tennis shop.
It was closed, but he saw a secretary working and got her attention.
”You don`t understand,” Seay said. ”These are for Arnold Palmer.”
The secretary said that was the most orginal request she`d heard and sold Seay the bands for $6.80. Palmer is considering marketing them with his umbrella logo.
Headband tomorrow?
”I might,” Palmer said.
Palmer and Tom Watson seemed to enjoy their celebrity pairing, despite the heat and Palmer`s 76. Jack Nicklaus, the third member of the group, wasn`t as thrilled after a 76. The group was requested to appear in the interview room but Nicklaus declined. The five-time PGA champion left to course to go to his nearby home to practice, stopping briefly to talk to reporters.
Even the easy-going Paul Azinger, the leading money-wiiner on the PGA Tour, lost his poise a time or two in the heat, humidity and rough. Azinger came upon his third shot on the par-4 12th hole and laughed ”at least it`s sitting up.” It wasn`t, of course. After he surveyed the green, a fan had to point out where the ball was hiding. He barely got his fourth shot on the green and lost his sense of humor. He finished with an 82.
Jack Kiefer, the pro at a miniature golf course and driving range in Andover, N.J., shot an 84 on the first round. Don`t laugh; he beat Tour winner Keith Clearwater (85), and Jodie Mudd and Ian Woosnam (86).
Jim Petralia of Arcadia, Calif., didn`t beat anyone unless James Blair of Park City, Utah, is counted. Blair was disqualified for using a different ball on the putting green.
Petralia, a club pro, shot a 42-49–91, starting on the back nine.
”I`m not the worst player in the world, but I feel like it right now,”
he said. ”I`m not stupid enough to quit.”
Blair noticed on the third green that the ball his caddy gave him was not the one he had played off the tee. Blair said he believed his caddy did not know it was a violation of the rules.
Defending Western Open champion Tom Kite has a new look. He`s wearing a straw hat instead of a visor.
”I tried some sun screen and developed a rash,” Kite said. ”My face broke out and I had to do something to protect it. My dermatoligist said I should have been wearing it (the hat) a long time ago. My skin and the sun are not the most compatible things.”
More from the hat department: Norman is wearing Australian felt hats now. The Akubra Great White Shark models will cost $50 each.
”So far I have only had to pay $16 for this hat,” Kite said. ”They must be paying Greg a lot to wear that felt.”
Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis was awarded the 1992 PGA Championship. The last time St. Louis hosted a major championship was 1965 when Gary Player defeated Kel Nagle in a playoff at Bellerive for the U.S. Open title.
