Craig Stadler, 4 others withdraw from Boeing Classic

SNOQUALMIE — The entry list for the Boeing Classic took a big hit Tuesday with five golfers, including Craig Stadler, withdrew.

The other golfers withdrawing were Wayne Levi, Jimmy Powell, Fulton Allem and Des Smyth, whose 24-year-old son won the Irish Lottery prize of $14 million (U.S. equivalent funds) tax-free last week.

Stadler, one of the most colorful players on the Champions Tour, was in the seven-man playoff last year won by Denis Watson, who has returned to try to defend his title.

Monday withdrawals included Bernhard Langer (family medical situation) and Peter Jacobsen (injury).

With the exit of Langer and Stadler, who reportedly appeared to be playing in some pain last week at the Jeld-Wen Tradition in Bend, Ore., the number of players in the 78-man field who won PGA Tour "majors" has dropped from 13 to 11.

Named to the field to replace Tuesday's withdrawals were Fred Gibson, David Ogrin, Lon Hinkle, Phil Blackmar and Hugh Baiocchi.

The three-day Boeing tournament begins Friday at the TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge.

Strange returns

Curtis Strange returned to the Boeing Classic this year despite a confrontation with a heckler last year. The heckler challenged Strange's manhood because the golfer played it safe and didn't go for the green on the No. 14 "canyon hole" on Day 1.

Strange said the incident is "the way of the world — it wouldn't keep me away."

"Suffice it to say he was a Duke grad, so there you have it," said Strange, who played at Wake Forest.

Strange said the over-50 golfers like coming to the Northwest "because it's a place we never got to on our years on Tour. ... Look at the market up here. The players, the fans. ... It's a beautiful place. ... Think about the rest of the country — it's pretty hot. You come up here and this climate is wonderful."

Notes

• The two-day Seahawks Pro-Am begins today and admission will be charged.

All-week adult passes are $60 and include the pro-am and the Boeing Classic. The Classic-only adult ticket is $40 and daily tickets are $20. The senior (61 and older) and junior (13 and under) rates are $14 daily, and $20 for the week and also $20 for the Boeing Classic-only. Admission is free for Boeing employees and retirees.

The entry fee for a foursome in the pro-am is $18,000. Many of the spots are part of sponsorship agreements.

• A delegation of 13 Champions Tour golfers visited the American Lake Veterans Golf Course Tuesday in Lakewood on the grounds of the VA hospital. Five golfers — Vietnam vet Ed Dougherty, who trained at Fort Lewis, Allen Doyle, Jim Thorpe, Dana Quigley and Lonnie Nielson — gave a clinic. John Harris, Scott Hoch, Bruce Vaughan, Tom McKnight, Mike Goodes, Bob Gilder, Leonard Thompson and Dan Forsman offered golf tips and mixed with patients and veterans. Some of the soldiers receiving instruction were wounded in Iraq. The Champions Tour donated more than 300 balls to the course.