Okay Michael Campbell managers, all 4,644 of you, which do you want first, the good news or the bad? The good? The New Zealander is due to make his first appearance of the 2000 Golf Masters at this week's French Open. The bad? Despite being the leading money winner on the Australasian Tour he will have to qualify for next month's US Open. The British Open gives automatic entry to the top three on the Australian Order of Merit, but not the USGA.
We suspect, though, that most of you will cope pretty well with the bad news, so relieved will you be to see Campbell finally turn up for Golf Masters' duty. He is still our second most hired player, behind Darren Clarke (6,175), but 344 managers gave up on him and have fired him since we got under way in March. Campbell is one of several players whose playing schedules are a constant source of mystery to their managers, who are reluctant to fire their MIAs (missing in action) just in case they suddenly reappear and win a tournament.
Tiger Woods seems to pose the biggest headache of all. He hasn't played a competitive round of golf since the Masters in mid-April and won't appear again until next week's Byron Nelson Classic. All we - and they - can be certain of is that he plans to play at the Byron Nelson Classic, the Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe, the Memorial, the Buick Classic and the US Open over the next eight weeks. Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington's 3,139 managers might like to know that he will return to action, after a four week break, at next week's Benson and Hedges International and then plans to play the Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe, the Volvo PGA Championship, the Buick Classic, US, Irish, European and British Opens.
