Sun, May 02, 2004 - Page 23 News List

Kent Jones shows players how to relax during delays

AP , NEW ORLEANS

Kent Jones is making himself right at home in the rain-delayed HP Classic of New Orleans.

"It feels like home," Jones said of his 45-foot mobile home. "You can make coffee or cook if you want to. It's a lot better place to hang out and relax than a hotel room."

Jones, one of 75 players who had not completed the first round Friday, was 3 under with three holes to play in the round that started Thursday.

Paul Azinger, Gene Sauers, Chris DiMarco and Robert Damron shared the lead at 6 under. Sauers and Azinger completed the round, DiMarco had four holes to play, and Damron had one hole left.

Tour officials hoped to finish the first and second rounds Saturday, leaving open the possibility of playing 36 holes Sunday or finishing on Monday. Last week, Vijay Singh won the rain-delayed Houston Open in a Monday finish.

"We're going to play as much golf as we can, every chance that we get," PGA Tour advance rules official Tony Wallin said.

A pocket of clear weather was expected early Saturday.

"Our real concern is the afternoon," said Greg Quinn, The Weather Channel meteorologist for the PGA Tour. "We could have some very severe storms then as a cold front moves through."

Five straight tour rounds have been interrupted by rain.

"It's one of those things," player David Frost said. "You take it as it comes. You can't do anything about it."

Delays can be tedious, with players spending hours killing time.

"You can spend a lot of down time in the locker room," Brian Bateman said. "We're eating quite a bit, doing crossword puzzles. Whatever you can do to pass the time until the next announcement is going to be made."

And more and more, they visit players who travel in their RVs.

"We all pile in with them and watch television or movies," Frost said. "It's a lot better than hanging around the clubhouse."

The trend began last year, said Tim West, who handles the pro-am event at 19 tournaments.

"I started out to help a couple of guys find a place on the courses for their RVs last year," West said. "Now there are 21 players using them and that number's going up.

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