It’s Open Season for People Watching

So what do Ivan Lendl and Mike Schmidt have in common? Well, they’re both former star athletes, they’re both golf nuts, they both tried to qualify this week for the U.S. Open and they both whiffed.

That’s the great thing about U.S. Open qualifying--it’s always great to see who’s trying to get in the darned thing. This year, the trip is to Pinehurst, N.C., June 17-20.

It’s the fifth consecutive time Lendl failed to qualify and No. 2 for Schmidt, but at least they keep trying. And there are a few other interesting names making the attempt.

* Three of Jack Nicklaus’ sons--Gary, Michael and Jack.

* Craig Stadler will try at Columbus, Ohio.

* Casey Martin will try at Cleveland.

Of course, Lendl and Schmidt will tell you it’s pretty hard to get in. NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver tried to qualify in local--or first-round--qualifying in Louisiana. He got sacked.

The sectionals are June 7-8 at 13 sites, including El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana.

U.S. Junior Amateur champion James Oh of Lakewood and four former USGA champions will try sectional qualifying at El Caballero.

The list includes 1991 U.S. Amateur champion Mitch Voges of Simi Valley, 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth of Chatsworth, 1994 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Terry Noe of Fullerton and 1996 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Sean McMenamy.

Duffy Waldorf, who won the 1984 California Amateur and has played the PGA Tour for 13 years, also will play at El Caballero.

CLUB WARS REVISITED

Now it’s Orlimar’s turn to be upset.

Callaway Golf’s amended complaint of patent infringement and false and deceptive advertising against Orlimar has caused Orlimar founder Jesse Ortiz to do a slow burn, fast.

“There’s a lot of baloney out there,” said Ortiz.

Now, Orlimar has decided to take a more active stance defending itself, which Ortiz says will basically mean taking the high road and letting his golf clubs do the talking.

That doesn’t mean Ortiz has nothing to say, though.

“I feel like Ali with the rope-a-dope,” Ortiz said. “We’re taking all the hits, all the body shots. Maybe it’s time we start coming back at them.

“A lot of companies use lawsuits as a strategy . . . a tool to slow a company down that’s doing well. We’ve been made the biggest target in golf.”

Ortiz said Callaway’s contention is false that Orlimar’s robot-testing procedures were flawed and the results misleading.

“We didn’t own the robot, we didn’t operate the robot, we didn’t touch the robot,” he said. “They’re just trying to discredit us.”

It is believed that Orlimar’s sales will pass $100 million this year--up from $1.5 million in 1997. Callaway had sales of nearly $700 million in 1998.

Ely Callaway said Orlimar’s advertising campaign is what began the whole issue.

“Their basic message was Callaway golf clubs are bad and theirs are good and they gave evidence to support that,” Callaway said. “They were not exactly complimenting our product. We considered that an attack.”

Stay tuned.

RIDE ON

News item: USGA lawyers said Casey Martin might not be able to use a cart when he tries to qualify for the U.S. Open in sectional qualifying June 7.

Reaction: They must be kidding.

Last year in Cincinnati, when Martin qualified for the Open by winning a dramatic playoff, the USGA enjoyed all kinds of positive publicity for allowing Martin the use of a cart, which he also rode when he played the Open at the Olympic Club.

Why would the USGA reverse itself now?

The good news is that it’s apparently not going to. A USGA spokesman said Martin will be permitted to use a cart at the 36-hole sectional qualifying at Sand Ridge Golf Club.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s appeal of the decision that gave Martin, who will be 27 next month, the right to ride a cart is still in the courts. At this point in his career, Martin doesn’t need any more controversy, he needs some good results on the golf course.

He’s playing the Nike Knoxville Open this week and hoping to reverse a season-long negative trend. He has missed the cut in his last four tournaments and has made only four cuts in 10 events. He has one top 10 so far--a tie for seventh at the Nike Louisiana Open--and is No. 49 on the money list with $17,733.

Martin hopes he will be able to turn things around quickly: “Maybe I’m pressing a little bit.”

NEW WORLD ORDER

Tiger Woods was bumped from the top spot in the official world ranking by David Duval, and now he has been bumped from the No. 2 spot by Davis Love III.

Not that it matters that much, of course. Anyway, Woods took his new ranking to Heidelberg, Germany, this week to play the Deutsche Bank SAP Open, where six of the top 10 players in the world are entered. The others are Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie and Nick Price.

It’s Woods’ first European PGA Tour event in Europe. He won the Johnnie Walker Classic last year in Phuket, Thailand.

HONK IF YOU LOVE NICK

Nick Faldo, who tied for seventh last week at the Benson and Hedges European PGA Tour event, gave credit to a London truck driver.

What?

“He shouted out to me ‘Come on Nick, sort it out. We need you.’ ” Faldo said.

Is that all it takes? Good thing the guy didn’t tell him to get lost.

EVERYBODY LOVES VICENTE

If it was a good week for Vicente Fernandez--and it definitely was because he won the Las Vegas Senior Classic--it was a great week for the companies that put the clubs in his hands.

There was an absolute blizzard of companies claiming Fernandez after his victory victory.

Taylor Made claimed Fernandez because he was using the Ti Bubble 2 driver and Taylor Made’s burner LCG irons.

Never Compromise claimed Fernandez because he used a Never Compromise Putter.

Orlimar claimed Fernandez because he used Orlimar’s Trimetal fairway woods.

No word on what kind of socks he was wearing.

HE BUYS DINNER

Montgomerie’s victory last week at the Benson and Hedges Open increased his career European PGA Tour earnings to $12.8 million.

THEN START SLOWER

For what it’s worth, Woods has been the first-round leader in five tournaments and hasn’t won any of them.

MIND GAMES

Mind over matter, OK, we’ve heard of that, but “Mind Under Par”?

Actually, it’s the title of a new book by David F. Wright of Coto de Caza, a PGA teaching pro at Pelican Hill Golf Club, a licensed clinical psychologist, a faculty member at the USC school of medicine and the 1998 Southern California PGA Section teacher of the year.

Wright and Dave Hanna have put together a Mind Under Par golf school at Pelican Hill, where the topics under discussion will include things like “Fine-tuning your nervous system.” Standing over a downhill putt on a fast green from 20 feet will tune it, all right.

SCHOOL’S IN

On the subject of golf schools, the May issue of Golf magazine lists the top 25 in the country. The list includes Aviara Golf Academy at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, Jim McLean Golf Schools at PGA West, the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Palm Desert and the Craft-Zavichas Golf School at Palm Desert.

MUST BE WORTH IT

According to the Golf Associated (Mutual) Fund, 130 Fortune 500 companies have golf-oriented marketing programs.

THE SHELL GAME

Els plays Price at Leopard Creek in South Africa, Fred Couples plays John Daly at Crosswater Golf Course at Sunriver, Ore., and Hale Irwin plays Tom Watson at the TPC Jasna Polana at Princeton, N.J., in the top matches in the upcoming Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf series.

Els-Price will be Sept. 21, Karrie Webb plays Dottie Pepper Sept. 28, Montgomerie plays Jim Furyk at the Paris Golf Club on Oct. 5, Couples-Daly is Oct. 12 and Irwin-Watson is Oct. 19. All of the matches will be on ESPN.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

A tournament will be played July 26 at Sunset Hills in Thousand Oaks to raise money for the International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressia (FOP) Assn. FOP is a rare genetic disorder. Details: (805) 582-9460.