ON TOUR This week's pro golf events

PGA TOUR
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Courses: Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links (6,816 yards, par 72), Spyglass Hill Golf Course (6,862 yards, par 72) and Poppy Hills Golf Course (6,833 yards, par 72).
Purse: $5.3 million. Winner's share: $900,000.
Television: USA (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday, 3-6 p.m.; Sunday, 3-6:30 p.m.).
Last year: Davis Love III won for the second time in three years, closing with a 68 to hold off Tom Lehman by a stroke.
Last week: Jonathan Kaye won the FBR Open for his second tour title, beating Chris DiMarco by two strokes in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Notes: Tiger Woods, the 2000 Pro-Am and U.S. Open winner at Pebble Beach, is skipping the tournament for the second straight year. Woods, off since tying for fourth in the season-opening Mercedes Championships, will return to the tour next week in San Diego for his title defense in the Buick Invitational. ... Vijay Singh has 11 straight top-10 finishes, three off the modern record set by Jack Nicklaus in 1977. ... Mark O'Meara won the 1997 event for his record fifth title, shooting four 67s for a tournament-record 268 total. He also won the 1979 California State Amateur at Pebble Beach. ... Brad Faxon is making his first start since tearing ligaments in his right knee two months ago. ... Peter Jacobsen is making his 25th appearance in the tournament. The seven-time PGA Tour winner will be 50 in March. ... Craig Stadler is skipping the Champions Tour event in Florida to play in the tournament. His son, Kevin, received a sponsor exemption. ... Casey Martin and Roger Maltbie also are playing on sponsor exemptions. ... Phil Mickelson, the 1998 winner, is making his third straight start. He won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic two weeks ago, and tied for seventh last week in Scottsdale. ... Matt Gogel won the 2002 tournament for his first tour title, two years after losing a seven-stroke lead to Woods in the final seven holes. ... The final round will be played at Pebble Beach.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Royal Caribbean Golf Classic
Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: Crandon Park Golf Club (6,940 yards, par 72), Key Biscayne, Fla.
Purse: $1.45 million. Winner's share: $217,000.
Television: The Golf Channel (Friday-Saturday, 1:30-4 p.m., 8-10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30-4 p.m., 9-11 p.m.).
Last year: Dave Barr became the first Canadian winner in Champions Tour history, birdieing the final four holes for a one-stroke victory over Gil Morgan and Bobby Wadkins.
Last week: Tom Watson won the Champions Skins Game in Hawaii, finishing with $400,000 and 10 skins. Arnold Palmer was second with $140,000, Jack Nicklaus made $60,000 and Lee Trevino was shut out.
Notes: The tournament is the first full-field event of the year. Fuzzy Zoeller won the season-opening MasterCard Championship two weeks ago in Hawaii. ... Jerry Pate is making his senior debut. The 1976 U.S. Open champion, coming off surgery on his left shoulder, turned 50 in September. ... Bruce Fleisher won in 1999 in his first senior start and successfully defended his title in 2000. ... Former major league pitcher Rick Rhoden is in the field. ... The tour will remain in Florida the next two weeks for the ACE Group Classic in Naples and the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Lutz.
AUSTRALASIAN PGA TOUR/PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
Heineken Classic
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Royal Melbourne (Australia) Golf Club, Composite Course (6,852 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $275,000.
Television: The Golf Channel (Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon, 11 p.m.-2 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon, 11:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-noon).
Last year: South Africa's Ernie Els successfully defended his title, overcoming a 10-stroke deficit for a one-stroke victory over England's Nick Faldo and Australia's Peter Lonard.
Last week: Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand, beating Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and India's Jyoti Randhawa by two strokes.
Notes: Els won the PGA Tour's Sony Open three weeks ago in Hawaii, and tied for 10th last week in Thailand. ... Els tops the field along with Faldo, Australians Greg Norman, Stuart Appleby and Adam Scott and Wales' Ian Woosnam. ... Els and Norman were both 3-1-1 in the International team's 20 1/2-11 1/2 victory in the 1998 Presidents Cup on the Alister Mackenzie-designed Royal Melbourne course. ... New Zealand's Michael Campbell won the 2000 and 2001 tournaments at The Vines in Perth. ... The European tour will remain in Australia next week for the ANZ Championship in Sydney.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Panama Championship
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Panama Golf Club (6,818 yards, par 70), Panama City, Panama.
Purse: $500,000. Winner's share: $90,000.
Television: None.
Last year: Inaugural event.
Notes: The top 20 players on the money list at the end of the season will earn 2005 PGA Tour cards. ... The Nationwide Tour will team with the Australasian circuit for the next two events, the Jacob's Creek Open in Adelaide, Australia, on Feb. 19-22, and the New Zealand PGA in Christchurch on Feb. 26-29.
-- Associated Press