From today's SF Chronicle ...
Cypress might get back in rotation, along with some other courses
Brian Murphy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Pebble Beach -- Tiger Woods stood outside the scorer's trailer on the Plantation Course at Kapalua and said there was an easy way to get him back to play the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on a regular basis.
"I'll come back for sure when Cypress Point comes back to the rotation," he said, smiling.
Wait.
What?
Cypress Point? Back in the rotation?
Turns out the idea is being kicked around the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the organization that runs the AT&T. It's far from certain, and it's at least three years away from reality, but there is a plan being floated that would expand the number of golf courses in the rotation to include Cypress Point, a planned Tom Fazio course near Pebble Beach and maybe even Monterey Peninsula Country Club, which is rebuilding one of its two courses.
The idea: Keep Pebble as the anchor in the rotation, and move the other courses in and out -- including Cypress Point, widely regarded as one of the top golf courses in the world.
Several players responded with delight at the possibility and said the addition would no doubt bring more of the world's top players back to play the tournament.
"I've heard the rumors," five-time AT&T champ Mark O'Meara said.
Charles Howell III heard them, too.
"I've heard that, yes," Howell said. "It sure wouldn't hurt a lot of players' thinking. Pebble's arguably the best golf course, or one of the prettiest golf courses in the world. And you've got Cypress right there with it."
Howell chuckled.
"I guess the only other course in the rotation," he said, "would be Augusta National."
When Bing Crosby brought the tournament to the Monterey Peninsula in 1947, Cypress Point was one of the original courses played, along with Monterey Peninsula CC and Pebble Beach. But in 1991, the Tour moved out of Cypress Point and over to Poppy Hills, the result of fallout from the Shoal Creek controversy.
In 1990, Alabama's Shoal Creek hosted the PGA Championship but came under fire for its failure to have an African American member. The next year, then- Tour commissioner Deane Beman, in an attempt to fend off a public relations nightmare, asked Cypress Point, which did not have an African American member, to admit one immediately or risk losing its spot on the AT&T rotation.
Cypress Point responded by saying it had nothing in its by-laws that excluded any race, but said its waiting list for members was so lengthy that it would be unfair to have a black member leapfrog that list.
The Tour's response: Hello, Poppy Hills.
It is believed that Cypress Point still does not have a member who is black, but those who are kicking around the idea think the Tour is comfortable with the possibility of returning to Cypress Point one day.
Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was noncommittal when asked about the possibility.
"I'll just say this: We're always looking to play better golf courses," Finchem said. "Cypress Point is one of the best golf courses in the world.
"But I'm not aware, as we speak, of the existence of or status of any conversations or plans in that area. I assume if the foundation has plans, or is having conversations, they'll make me aware of them at the appropriate time. "
If Cypress Point still does not have an African American member, would that be a deal-killer for the Tour?
"There's nothing about our position on those issues that's changed, specifically," Finchem said. "But our position on that issue related to a specific set of circumstances at a specific point in time. Our policy is a fairly general policy, so it would depend on circumstances.
"If it's presented to us, we'll take a look at it. We'd have to evaluate it and know all the facts."
Tournament director Ollie Nutt would say only that any potential move is at least three years away, contingent first on the Fazio-designed course getting approved and built.
"It's down the road," Nutt said. "But we'll keep our options open."
[/i]