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People
The World Golf Hall of Fame mourns the death of member Paul Runyan, who died Sunday at age 93. Runyan, who won 28 times on the PGA Tour between 1930 and 1941, continued to teach the game until very recently.
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Media
Recognizing that good health and fitness can go a long way in improving one's game -- as well as overall general health -- The Golf Channel taps noted, Harvard-trained cardiologist Dr. James Rippe as its on-air and online medical expert.
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Travel
A new "Summer Meetings Package" at LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort in Naples, Fla., includes 10 rounds of complimentary golf at the new Bob Cupp-designed LaPlaya Golf Club. The package is designed to encourage business groups to hold their meetings at the resort, which also has accommodations and 11,500 square feet of meeting space.
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Burroughs & Chapin Golf Management offers a Grand 4 package, a three-night trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., that includes golf at four of the Grand Strand's premier layouts and accommodations for as low as $349 per person through May 19.
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Tournaments
Reigning U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Argentinean Jose Coceres, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2001, head the list of international players in the field at the BellSouth Classic April 1-7 at the TPC at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.
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Defending champion Annika Sorenstam heads the field for this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 28-31.
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Reigning U.S. Open champion Karrie Webb and the Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez head an impressive list LPGA players already committed to play in the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic set for May 27-June 2 at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora, Ill.
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Associations
The Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA) announces that the LPGA's Meg Mallon will serve as the honorary chair of the 2002 EWGA Member-Get-A-Member campaign.
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Equipment
Dan Quinn and Al Del Greco each posted wins recently on the Celebrity Players Tour using the Maxfli A10 ball. Also, Rick Rhoden, the tour's No. 1-ranked player plays the A10 ball and Maxfli irons.
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Business
United Turf Industries, developer of SofTrak putting greens, announces a doubling of sales for the first two months of calendar year 2002.
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Five Questions
Deane Beman, Pete Dye & Jerry Pate

The TPC at Sawgrass, the first of the Tournament Players Clubs, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. To talk about preparing and opening the course, former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman, course architect Pete Dye and the first winner of The Players Championship at Sawgrass, Jerry Pate, gathered at the venue Wednesday.

BOB COMBS: Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for being with us here this morning, to joinour honored guests, to really celebrate and commemorate a landmark moment in golf and certainly in the development of this championship and this facility. You'll hear a great deal about it and then you'll hear some from our speakers and have a chance for questions. To start things off, I would like to bring up PGA TOUR Commissioner Finchem for his comments.

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Thank you, Bob. Thanks for being with us today.

Jerry Pate and I were talking on the phone a few weeks ago, and Jerry comes back to the THE PLAYERS Championship every year and it is a delight to have him. We were reminiscing about the fact that it had been 20 years since the fateful moment when Jerry plunged these other two fellows into the lake. We thought it was worth commemorating that particular tournament that day, the first tournament on the golf course, Jerry Pate winning, all of that coming together.

It was special for so many reasons. It says so many things about the develop of Tournament Players Clubs, development of the THE PLAYERS Championship, the quality of Pete Dye's designing, Commissioner Beman's vision in terms of building those things, and it all came together in that moment and we wanted to reminisce.

So before further adieu, I would like to recognize the fact that we would like to thank Pete in particular for making the trip here, and in recognition of the fact that it's been 20 years, Pete was kind enough to wear the same shoes he was wearing on the day that he was pushed into the lake, which they are wearing pretty well, Pete. (Laughter.)

I thank Jerry and Deane for being here, as well. We are going to roll a short video, and then Bob will introduce each of those fellows to reminisce a little bit.

(Video played.)

BOB COMBS: We have our protagonists here, which will be entertaining to hear each of them about their thoughts on that day, their thoughts on the championship and the their thoughts on the tournament now. We'll begin with Commissioner Beman.

COMMISSIONER BEMAN: I'm going to defer to Pete.

PETE DYE: It was really a thrill when Deane asked me to come up here, and we went around and around. Then he had this great idea about a Stadium Golf Course, and he actually spent a of couple extra dollars and flew us up to Canada and looked at Jack's golf course.

We had a friend of his by the name of Vernon Kelly, who at that time was on the other side of the fence. And Vernon brought me out to his property and found the only high spot in this property, and it was a little low -- and Deane would never want to refer to it. I heard you call it a swamp, and that would never have been published 20 years ago. Deane, it was just a little low. (Laughter)

Deane was the one that really wanted this golf course and this was his thought about the tournament and the spectators -- and I remember Deane saying try to have No. 1 be like No. 2, and 1 like 10 because you'll have players on both sides. So he gave it a tremendous amount of thought.

I don't think any of us really thought of the 17th hole. It just kind of arrived. We just dug it out trying to get the sand out and I think -- actually I think it was Alice came out and said why don't you make it an island hole. There's an island hole in Ponte Vedra on an old Donald Ross golf course. Only thing is we didn't make it as big of an island; it was a smaller island.

Read the rest of the interview with Deane Beman, Pete Dye & Jerry Pate.