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Although the prime golf season on television is more or less over, I still took time to watch as much action as I could in the American Express Championship played in Califor- nia, mostly because it had a field as strong as any event played this year. Daly a hero to blue-collar types f there was ever a doubt that pro golfer John Daly was Ipopular among the masses - sort of the champion of the blue collar or every day Joe teeing it up out there - that doubt was probably ended a couple of weekends back. Because of his trials and tribulations in life -r-- some brought on by his own drinking and some based on the people he married or hung out with - most serious golf fans I know have taken John to their heart as he battled and apparently won out over his demons, A gregarious guy who is shaped more like a retired foot- ball lineman than a lot of today's pro golf shotmakers. John's "grip it and rip it" philosophy makes him as big a crowd favourite as guys like Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. On the final day of the Amex event. it came down to Daly - hitting thunderous drives all day - leading as he headed to the 17th hole, where, horror of -iit-iI-i-iiq. horrors. he proceeded to make a ‘ ' . . , e - r bogey which eventually set the 1 I ll I , ll , i K E “ stage for a tie with the aforemen- 1 no , I t domed Woods. ' Now it's tough to pick favourites when Tiger and "Big" John are getting ready for a sud- den-death playoff. and rm sure the good crowds at the wonderful old municipal course near San Francisco had a dilemma on their hands. And he seems to thrive on interchange with his followers. unlike say, Scotsman Colin Montgomery who seems happy one day and cranky the next. A A However, who could have expected the sudden end to the showdown when Daly casually missed a short putt that would have sent the match to another hole. It's hard to tell on television but it was described as being anywhere from two to four feet and Daly simply hit it on the high side and watched as it lipped out the back edge of the Although Daly isn't in Woods' league when it comes to money-making on the US. PGA Tour, he's certainty not sur- fering in the financial department. so missing the putt, I'm certain, wasn't going to lead to having his marvelous big travelling motorhome repossessed. When he strode quickly off the green with very quick handshakes to Woods and the caddies. I think John was more miffed about his own lack of concentration on a putt that is considered a Shoo-in for the pros, especially Daly who has a very good short game despite his prowess for hit- ting monster drives and iron shots. iiig lohn may still be cursing somewhere today but not his fans. John did exactly what high and tow handicap play- ers all over the world of golffear on, a regwlar_basiy, .. I've made my share 5! long snakes G make a birdie, save par or help a scramble team I'm playing with, but nothing Continued on page M here's a Wildfire set to I sweep through Water- loo this Saturday. And the local entry in the 19-team National Ringette League (NHL) is hoping the high level of competition is enough to attract even the casual fan out to what's being billed as the fastest game on ice. Gerry Kraemer, general manager of the Waterloo Wildfire in its second year in the league, said the team is building on a solid base of local veterans with some exciting rookies that should help the team challenge for a playoff spot in the Ontario division. There are six teams in Ontario, with Waterloo's closest rival being the Cam- bridge 'mrbos featuring the Gaudet sisters, lenn and Jackie. Be Boa VIIBMIMZ - qTrni_clfsiatr, But the Wildfire have their own big-time scorer with Shelly Kraemer in the lineup. And the additions of rookies Lindsey Vivian and Usa Barber, both first-round draft picks, should help the Wildfire keep pace with tra- ditional powers like Cam- bridge and Glouchester, In addition to facing off against Ontario competi- tion, the Wildnre also play an interlocking schedule with the Quebec conference and open up their schedule against La Belle Province with their home opener against BU. this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Moses Springer Kraemer said the idea for the NRL came three years ago when like-minded groups from central Ontario and the west decided to do something to give ringette a higher profile across the country. “This is basically the elite league of our country, because all of the national But from that spark. the NW. has grown to include a new six-tearn league in Manitoba, and has even seen expansion in Ontario with the addition of the Ottawa Ice. The Waterloo Wildfire were formed out of the con- tinued strong support for the sport locally, and the desire of girls who had grad- uated to the women's game to continue to keep playing. And the mstéi of ttie Wildfire reads like a who's who of local ringette stand- team players are spread across teams playing in the league," said Kmemer. "This is the highest-level compet- itive league in the country if not the world." It started with regional championships moving on to the national finals, with teams from Edmonton dominating in the past cou- ple of years. otestinoedosspatgr3S