A Look Back: August 8    1965: En route to his second consecutive PGA Tour money title, 25-year-old Jack Nicklaus wins the Philadelphia Classic.    1976: Bob Wynn shoots a final-round 69 to win the B.C. Open by one shot over Bob Gilder.    1982: Raymond Floyd wins his third major and his second PGA Championship, shooting an 8-under-par 272 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Lanny Wadkins is second at 5 under.    1993: Larry Mize wins for the second time of the year, shooting a 16-under 272 to win the Buick Open by one shot over Fuzzy Zoeller.    1999: Tom Pernice Jr. earns his first PGA Tour win at the Buick Open, shooting a final-round 65 to edge Ted Tryba, Tom Lehman and Bob Tway by one stroke.

Business
TaylorMade-adidas Golf announces a 23 percent increase in revenue for the first half of 2001. Much of the rise is attributed to the popularity of the company's 300 series metalwoods -- sales of the clubs rose 58 percent worldwide. Increased revenue from the 300 series irons and growth in footwear sales also helped the company.
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Courses
Nine holes at Augusta National Golf Club have been changed in preparation for the 2002 Masters Tournament, chairman Hootie Johnson announces. The yardage on the course increased from 6,985 yards to approximately 7,270 yards and a new practice putting green was constructed.
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Equipment
Mizuno introduces the MX-11, a game-improvement iron featuring hollow construction that minimizes off-center hits; the MX-20, a forged iron; and the FLI-HI utility irons in 18-, 21- and 24-degree lofts. All three new products utilize T-Zoid Power Bar technology, which strengthens the back of the club and creates a deeper center of gravity for increased forgiveness.
For more on the MX-11 irons...
For more on the MX-20 irons...
For more on the FLI-HI utility irons...

New product offerings from Orlimar Golf: the hipSteel line of metal woods and irons. The hipSteel woods and hipSteel Reversed-Size irons will be introduced at the PGA Expo in September. The hipTi driver, already available for sale, has become one of the top selling titanium drivers since its debut earlier this year.
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Top wedge maker Cleveland Golf sees its market share increase even more in both units and dollars. Also, the company's Tour Action irons have become a top-five club chosen by consumers, according to Golf Datatech.
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Apparel
A cutting and sewing manufacturing plant in North Carolina owned by Sport-Haley will close its doors. The plant, which employs 35 people, will be shut because Sport-Haley has begun to use more foreign suppliers to make its clothing.
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People
Kathy Murphy, chairman of the LPGA National Education Advisory Board and lead instructor for the LPGA National Education Program Series, joins the SNAG advisory board. SNAG (Starting New at Golf) is an instruction program designed to teach the basics of golf in a positive way.
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ILC's golf equipment leasing division, PFG Golf, adds Chris Schauerman, David Thinnes, William Taylor and Ed Rinaldi to its staff. The department has entered into an agreement with E-Z-GO so its clients can upgrade their golf carts and equipment.
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Dennis Iden, a 30-year golf industry veteran, joins Trinity Golf as senior vice president of sales and marketing. He will be responsible for the introduction of Trinity's Stiletto II Beta Ti driver.
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Players
In an effort to make the European Ryder Cup team on points, Sergio Garcia has committed to play in the BMW International Open Aug. 30 - Sept. 2. The event is the last counting event for Ryder Cup points and offers a 1.8 million-euro prize.
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Commentary
For the good of the Walker Cup, Yates

Danny Yates has lost the Walker Cup twice, once as a player and once as a captain. Neither time did losing please Yates. Who can blame him, losing the precious trophy would not sit well with anyone.

But Yates, 51, reluctantly admits that losing two years ago -- a stinging defeat that saw Great Britain & Ireland win 10 of Sunday's 12 points to win 15-9 at Nairn, Scotland -- may have been good. Good for him, good for the Walker Cup.

"From a learning experience you would have to say losing was good, but I hate it, I don't want to go through it again," said Yates, who will captain the United States squad for a second time when it hosts GB&I this weekend at Sea Island, Ga. "I don't need to learn a whole lot more from losing."

Prior to the 1989 match in Atlanta, the United States owned the event with a 28-2-1 record. The Walker Cup was headed to a similar fate as its professional brethren, the Ryder Cup, before that event allowed GB&I to include all of Europe -- in a downward ho-hum spiral.

But that year, in Yates' Georgia backyard, where he played aside his U.S. teammates, GB&I won by a single point. It did so again in 1995 and then in '99. The last six matches have been evenly split.

"I think it was better for the match, the Walker Cup," Yates said of the loss at Nairn. "It's balanced and very even. For the Walker Cup itself it was better, obviously, because it's gotten so competitive."

That is what Yates enjoys, the competition. He likes winning, but the wins are more meaningful when there is a fight. After the loss in '89, Yates played on the 1993 U.S. team that won 19-5 at Interlachen Country Club. That was fun, he will tell you, mainly because he had experienced the disappointment of losing.

The loss in 1999 still gnaws at Yates, though he doubts he could have done anything differently to prevent the outcome. But losing was good he keeps saying, good for the Walker Cup. Now, winning the trophy back will be good for Yates' soul.

 

Tomorrow: Five Questions with Danny Yates.