Shootout: Nobody hammers them like Hank

Hank Kuehne had his best year ever on the PGA Tour this season,

making 14 cuts and earning over $800,000.

But it's fables of his driving prowess for which he's best

known.

The 28-year-old set a PGA Tour record this year for driving

distance at 321.4 yards, beating out perennial long-hitter John

Daly, who improved his distance 7.5 yards from last year when he

won the title.

"I think it's funny to me how interested everybody is," said

Kuehne, who will play with Jeff Sluman in the Franklin Templeton

Shootout beginning today. "You come out and hit one (and it's like)

how far it'd go?, how far it'd go?, how far it'd go? I think it's

fascinating because it's just the way I play golf. I step up there

and I'm trying to hit the ball down the fairway. I never hit it as

hard as I can."

Kuehne's recent feats include reaching the par-5, sixth hole,

which plays 558 yards tee to green, at Bay Hill Golf Club in

Orlando, reaching a house 320 yards away on top of the uphill

driving range in Castle Pines, Colo.; and driving his ball over the

323-yard, par-4 14th green in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill

Country Club this year.

At Bay Hill, Kuehne was playing with former tour player Andy

Bean and two others. The sixth hole was playing downwind and Kuehne

hit his tee shot about 130 yards short. Keuhne mentioned to Bean

that he thought he could drive over the dogleg left, and cut 200

yards off the hole, though still leaving the green 350 yards

away.

Bean challenged him, so Kuehne told Bean to stay on the green

and he would go back to the tee. Keuhne hit his tee shot over the

lake instead of playing to the fairway that swings around the

water.

"He went on the green and I went back to the tee and I ripped

it," Kuehne said. "And he's looking at it and he's looking at it,

he's looking at it, he's looking at it. He's like 'It's not going

to get here, it's not going to get here.'"

Then Bean watched as the ball sailed over his head.

At Castle Pines, home of PGA Tour's The International, players

were trying to hit a house at the end of the driving range. The

range there goes uphill.

"That range, you hit 5-irons on it, and it looks like you bladed

it because it goes so far uphill," he said. "It's 320 to the roof

probably, but that's a really, really long way uphill.

"We were hitting off pencils and everything else, teeing them up

there trying to hit it as high as you can and as far as you can,

getting them up there."

Only Kuehne was able to hit the house.

"I knocked it off the roof, all over the house," he said.

ZINGER TO THE BOOTH? Paul Azinger could be making the

jump to the TV booth. Azinger is contemplating accepting a position

with ABC Sports as a golf analyst.

"I'm very much interested, but I have not decided," said

Azinger, who is playing with Olin Browne in his first Shootout

appearance. "I've got two weeks before I have to make a

decision.

"If I did do TV, I wouldn't do just TV. I would do both."

Azinger, who turns 44 in January, struggled this season, missing

10 consecutive cuts at one point and 12 of 13 from February to

August. He was 222nd on the money list, his worst finish since his

rookie year in 1982.

"There's a certain window of opportunity for certain things like

this and I don't want that opportunity to close, but I'm still a

long way off before I decide," he said.

Azinger, who has had back problems, said he is healthy and still

feels like he can play well on the tour. He did have a bit of the

flu on Wednesday, but said he was feeling better.

ALL ACES: Dave Petso of Boise, Idaho, made a hole-in- one

during the pro-am on Thursday. Petso, playing with pro Scott

McCarron, used a wedge on the 130-yard No. 8.

PRO-AM WINNERS: Amateurs Atila Ali, Dean Debuhr, Tom

Ouverson and George Richmond won the two-day pro-am with a 103. The

team played with pro John Cook in Wednesday's scramble round and

with Mark Calcavecchia in Thursday's better ball net.

The team of Mac Whisner, Roger Moody, Ken Martin and Sandy

Sansing was second at 108 with Scott McCarron and Fred Funk as the

two pros.

Greg Norman and Paul Azinger were the pros for the third-place

amateur team of Brent Dewar, Jim Basil, Mike Lally and Jae Park,

which had a 111.

SHOOTOUT VS. WORLD CUP: The Shootout is going up against

the World Golf Championships World Cup this week in Kiawah Island,

S.C.

Comparing the two fields -- the World Cup has twice as many

players as the 24-man Shootout -- the Shootout leads in a landslide

as far as top players.

The Shootout has six of the top 30 on the money list, compared

to three in the World Cup. However, there are seven of the top 35

in the World Golf Ranking in the World Cup, with six in the

Shootout.

The Shootout field has eight PGA Tour victories this year three

by Kenny Perry compared to four for the World Cup. And the Shootout

has 14 major championship victories, while the World Cup has

three.

ON THE BAG: Once again, Florida Gulf Coast University

golfers were caddying during the two pro-am days.

Joey Lamielle, Justin McCarraher, Drew Pierson, David Steele,

Spencer King, Michael Nickerson and Kyle Bilodeau from the current

team all caddied, as did former players Jake Pasch and Adam

Gary.

Gary, who has turned professional, did not advance out of the

first stage of Q- School and is playing the Hooters Winter

Tour.

Barron Collier High golfer Michael York and Lely High golfer

Brent Hutchinson also were caddies, as was Golden Bear Tour player

Robbie Schulz of Naples.

KEEPING IN TOUCH: Rocco Mediate and CNN anchor Aaron

Brown played together in the pro-am last year. The two and their

wives quickly became close friends. Mediate said that his wife,

Linda, and Brown exchange e-mails two or three times a day.