Golfer Jeff Sluman ready to go in Boeing Classic

SNOQUALMIE — In 2002, Jeff Sluman's golf clubs made it to Seattle for the NEC Championship at Sahalee Country Club, but he didn't.

This year, both Sluman and his clubs have arrived for the Boeing Classic that starts Friday at the TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge.

In 2002, Sluman was a late bump from the NEC field after three golfers passed him on the top-50 list with surprisingly high finishes at the PGA Championship.

Sluman had been assured he was "in" and shipped his clubs. He wound up staying home.

This year, Sluman is one of the new and most interesting golfers in the Boeing Classic.

"He's got an incredible sense of humor," said fellow golfer John Cook, also making his first appearance in the Boeing Classic. "He's very, very funny. He's always got a quip, always got a little story, a little jab at you about something. He's very knowledgeable about a lot of things. He can talk the talk with anybody about anything. I think he'd be a good 'Jeopardy!' contestant."

In fact, Sluman said his friends organized a "Jeff-ferty" party for his 50th birthday.

Sluman earned his permanent place in golf history 20 years ago when he won the PGA Championship. It was his first PGA Tour victory. He didn't win again on tour until 1997, but now has six PGA Tour wins.

One thing he has a lot more of is bottles of wine. He has about 2,000 in his collection and was raving Wednesday about Quilceda Creek reds from the Snohomish winery.

He describes himself as "a college football nut" who would spend his weekends attending games of alma mater Florida State if he wasn't playing in golf tournaments. The native of Rochester, N.Y., lives in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale and has had Chicago Bulls tickets for a decade and follows the Cubs avidly.

Sluman joined the Champions Tour last September and got his breakthrough win on his new tour in June outside Boston. He is No. 8 on the money list this year with $992,358.

The switch to the Champions Tour has required adjustments.

"Going from four rounds to three rounds is a big change," he said, referring to tournaments being 54 holes instead of 72. "You need to get off to a good start. Very seldom can you play one mediocre round and still have a chance to win. ... You better not shoot even par."

Sluman, who remained competitive on the PGA Tour late into his 40s, describes the Champions Tour, with its no-cut fields, as having a "different atmosphere" but "is still very, very competitive."

"All you have to do is look every week and see what the scores are to understand that," he said.

Sluman, nicknamed "Slu," has been a popular golfer throughout his career.

From 1992 to 1994, he served on the board of the PGA Tour and was interested in getting golf added as an Olympic sport. He said he was "flabbergasted" that no top players were interested.

"I can think of nothing better than walking into the Olympic stadium with the Stars and Stripes," he said.

At 5 feet 7, 140 pounds, Sluman is among the shorter players on the Tour but still is averaging 274 yards on holes where driving distance is measured. That ranks him 45th.

The tournament starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday just after a Boeing 777 flies low over the course. The aviation theme will mark the end of the tournament Sunday when the winner will be presented with an aviator jacket. It's a garment Sluman would like to wear home.

Note

• The afternoon round of the Seahawks Pro-Am was halted at 4:30 p.m. because of heavy rains that were making the course unplayable. Many groups had completed 12 holes.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com