Gte Northwest Classic -- Heartbreaks, Hills -- Strong Field Of Seniors Faces Inglewood Test

KENMORE - Rick Adell has been the golf professional at Inglewood Country Club for 18 years and nine Senior PGA tournaments.

He doesn't know who will win this year's GTE Northwest Classic, which starts tomorrow, but he does know the type of golfer who can best handle the hills and heartbreaks of his golf course.

The field is a strong one, ironic because this might be the last senior stop in Seattle unless a major sponsor can be found for next year.

The plan has been to play the 1996 event here and then move to the new Snoqualmie Ridge course being built by Jack Nicklaus.

Headlined by Arnold Palmer, the field includes 11 golfers who have won major championships. But the experience at Inglewood can be unique.

"This is a wonderful old course that seldom gives you the same shot twice," Adell said.

The players who succeed at Inglewood hit the ball high, able to stop shots whether the approach to a green is uphill or downhill.

"Maybe that is why Lee Trevino didn't like the course," said Adell, "but then he didn't like Augusta either.

"Low shots just won't hold here. The greens on Nos. 4, 5, and 6 are substantially below the fairway while on Nos. 1, 2, 10, 13 and 15 are above you."

But elevation is just one characteristic that makes Inglewood different than the courses played in Florida and California. Towering trees border almost every fairway.

"The trees are so tall they make the fairways look narrower than

they are," Adell said. "But in fact, the fairways are very generous."

The difficulties come not from the trees, but from the different stances the players get on the fairways.

"A lot of pros have complained that they get a perfect drive, but a different, sometimes difficult stance each time," Adell said. "Because the fairways are so old (the course was built in 1919) they have many rolls and dips. You have to be a really good ball striker to play well on this course."

There is a very difficult stretch of holes starting with No. 8, a 204-yard par 3, and ending with No. 14, a 397-yard par 4 whose green is cut into a hillside and drives players nuts, even though it was redone a few years ago.

"If a golfer can stay even par through that stretch," said Adell, "he can finish in the top five."

Five to watch

-- Dave Stockton, two-time winner on the tour this year, is a former winner at Inglewood and a guy who can hit it high. In 1993, he led wire-to-wire, finishing a stroke ahead of Tom Wargo. Stockton has won $973,810 this year, third on the money-leading list behind Jim Colbert and Bob Murphy.

-- Colbert, the star of the 1995 tour, has won three times (Senior Tournament of Champions, Paine Webber Invitational, Quicksilver Classic) and $1,013,532 in prize money.

-- Simon Hobday, winner earlier this week of the Merrill Lynch Shootout, won not only here last year but also won the U.S. Senior Open.

"I haven't played well this year, too much pressure after winning the Open," the South African said. "It is hard to play wearing a crown. But, now, I like my chances. I like this golf course."

-- Jim Albus, a former club pro, won earlier in the year in San Antonio and ranks 10th in money winnings ($567,631). He lost in a playoff last year at Inglewood to Hobday.

-- Bruce Summerhays, a strong, younger player, has finished in the top five the past two tournaments. Leads the tour in birdies, and is ranked 10th in driving. He is due to win.

Don't forget hometown favorite Don Bies, who first played this course in 1952, and was tied for the lead in last week's tournament in Park City, Utah, and Tony Jacklin, the former U.S. Open champ, who beat him.

Best viewing areas

Behind the 14th green, where with short walks one can see play on Nos. 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18. Also, behind No. 2, where play can be seen on Nos. 3, 16 and 17.

Toughest holes

Making par on No. 9 traditionally has been difficult for the touring pros. The long, 410-yard par 4 demands a well-placed drive for a shot to a green that is hard to see, let alone hit.

The hole is sandwiched between the 204-yard par-3 eighth and the 402-yard par-4 10th, making this stretch near the clubhouse the most demanding on the course.

Key hole

The downhill, very treacherous No. 16, a 195-yard par 3, where anything hit left or long is gone.

Hit the ball in either of the two greenside bunkers and par becomes a terrific score.

The tournament could be won or lost here as the last two holes will produce many birdies.

Tomorrow's tee times

8:40 - Jim Wilkinson, Bill Tindall, Roy Niznik. 8:50 - Robert Landers, Snell Lancaster, Mike Miller. 9:00 - Joe Jimenez, Walt Morgan, Bob Menne. 9:10 - Bob Dickson, Bob Lunn, Rod Curl. 9:20 - Bob McCallister, Ed Sneed, Al Balding. 9:30 - Homero Blancas, Lee Elder, Mike Fetchick. 9:40 - Miller Barber, Larry Mowry, Charlie Sifford. 9:50 - Arnold Palmer, Don January, Bud Allin. 10:00 - Jim Colbert, Tommy Aaron, Jim Ferree. 10:10 - Billy Casper, Rives McBee, Tom Shaw. 10:20 - Simon Hobday, Jim Albus, Larry Laoretti. 10:30 - Jack Kiefer, Terry Dill, Bob Wynn. 10:40 - George Archer, Rocky Thompson, Bob Berley. 10:50 - Jimmy Powell, Don Bies, John Paul Cain. 11:00 - Tony Jacklin, Dave Stockton, Gary Player. 11:10 - J.C. Snead, Al Geiberger, Bruce Crampton. 11:20 - Dale Douglass, Allen Assance, Butch Baird. 11:30 - John Brodie, Mike Joyce, Al Kelley. 11:40 - Billy Maxwell, Babe Hiskey, Bobby Mitchell. 11:50 - Dick Lotz, Howie Johnson, Labron Harris. Noon - Dow Finsterwald, Jack Fleck, Cesar Sanudo. 12:10 - Bob Brue, Dick Hendrickson, Bob E. Smith. 12:20 - Ben Smith, Harry Toscano, Bob Zimmerman. 12:30 - Dick Rhyan, Dick Goetz, Don Davis. 12:40 - Bruce Summerhays, Robert Gaona, Chuck Montalbano. 12:50 - Roy Abrameit, Marion Heck, Mike Still.

---------------------------------------------------. Classic at a glance.

-- Site: Inglewood Country Club, Kenmore.

-- Purse: $600,000.

-- Field: 78 Senior PGA Tour pros, minimum age 50.

-- Tomorrow: First round GTE Northwest Classic, first tee times 8:30 a.m.

-- Saturday: Second round, first tee times 8:30 a.m.

-- Sunday: Final round, first tee times 8:30 a.m.

-- TV: Channel 7 will televise live from 3-5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

-- Tickets: Daily, $12 for adults, $7 for seniors (age 60) and juniors $2 (17 or younger). Adult all-tournament pass $60.