By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Sunday, April 2

Details
When	Thursday-Sunday
Course	Golf Club at Desert Mountain (Cochise), Scottsdale, Ariz.
Par/Yardage	Par 72; 6,959 yards
Purse	$1.6 million (Winner: $240,000)
1999 champion	Graham Marsh
Tournament record	22-under 266 (Gil Morgan, 1997)
Television	Thursday-Friday: 4-6 p.m. ET (ESPN Saturday: 4-6 p.m. ET (ABC) Sunday: 3-6 p.m. ET (ABC)

The tournament

	Hole by hole
	Hole	Par	Yards
	1	4	379
	2	3	181
	3	4	475
	4	5	546
	5	4	448
	6	4	341
	7	3	194
	8	5	569
	9	4	433
	Out	36	3566
	10	4	424
	11	3	189
	12	5	523
	13	3	146
	14	4	450
	15	5	548
	16	4	413
	17	3	189
	18	5	511
	In	36	3393
	Total	72	6959

Players arriving for the first major of the 2000 Senior Tour season can be certain of one thing: The Tradition will be nothing like the 1999 version.

One of the strangest tournaments in golf took place last year, as the normally arid Scottsdale, Ariz., was hit by snow -- and not just one day. Snow wiped out two of the four rounds, allowing Graham Marsh to win his second Senior major by playing just 36 holes.

Marsh shot rounds of 69 and 67 to finish at 8-under 136, three strokes better than Larry Nelson.

Until the second round of last year's event, no Senior Tour tournament had lost a round to snow. But three inches fell on the golf course, only to melt away in time for Saturday's round to be played. Temperatures on Saturday were in the 50s, although winds were whipping.

Then a second storm came through on Sunday, bringing more snow to the course and making Desert Mountain unplayable.

More normal weather is expected this year, forcing players to deal with one of the longest courses on the Senior Tour. At 6,959 yards, Desert Mountain is set up more like a PGA Tour event than a Senior event. And that's good news for the big hitters, one reason why players like Jack Nicklaus and Gil Morgan have dominated over the years.

Nicklaus has won the event a record four times, including back-to-back titles in 1990 and 1991, and again in 1995 and 1996. Then it was Morgan's turn, winning in 1997 and 1998.

Morgan, in fact, was in an incredible zone in 1997, finishing at 22-under for the week, the second-lowest score ever in any Senior major. And Morgan will arrive this week full of confidence, having gone wire-to-wire last week at the Emerald Coast Classic, his first official event of the season after nursing a rib injury for the first two months of 2000.

Morgan is just one of the players to watch this week.

Players to watch
Jose Maria Canizares: One of the most consistent players on the Senior Tour, Canizares hasn't finished lower than 25th in any of his seven starts this year. He lost a playoff at the ACE Group Classic for his best finish.

Jim Colbert: The former player of the year has found his game of late, finishing second at the Audi Classic and teaming with Andy North to win the unofficial Legends of Golf.

Jim Dent: Despite turning 60, his game is strong. He can take advantage of one of the longest games on the Tour. He has three top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for sixth last week.

Vicente Fernandez: Like Canizares, he always seems to be on the leaderboard. He was second at the Royal Caribbean Classic this year and tied for third in this event last year.

Bruce Fleisher: Last year's player of the year with seven wins is back at it this year, with two wins, four top-10 finishes and nothing worse than 22nd in eight starts.

Hale Irwin: The player of the year in 1997 and 1998, Irwin has four top-10s in five starts this year, including a second at the MasterCard. This man lives for majors, including five Senior majors and three U.S. Opens.

Tom Kite: He hasn't been the splash many expected on the Senior Tour with just one top-10 finish in four starts, but the former U.S. Open champion is extremely dangerous.

John Mahaffey: He leads the Senior Tour with five top-10 finishes this year and has finished no worse than 13th in his seven starts. But he has just one win in three years on the tour.

Graham Marsh: The fluke winner last year is playing well in 2000 with four top-10 finishes. He played poorly last week, however, finishing 40th at the Emerald Coast Classic.

Gil Morgan: After nearly three months off with a rib muscle injury, Morgan tied for third at the Legends of Golf then ran away with the Emerald Coast Classic. He won this event in 1997 and 1998.

Larry Nelson: The winner of three majors on the PGA Tour, Nelson has four top-10 finishes this year, including his last three starts: fifth at the Toshiba, fourth at the Legends and second at Emerald Coast.

Jack Nicklaus: His two Senior starts this year were less than impressive -- 34th at the MasterCard and 14th at the GTE Classic -- but never count him out, especially in a major that he has won four times.

Andy North: The two-time U.S. Open champion is making his first official Senior start. He unofficially began two weeks ago, teaming with Jim Colbert to win the Legends of Golf.

Dana Quigley: One of the tour's ironmen, Quigley has four top-10 finishes in eight starts, including runnerup finishes at both the MasterCard and GTE Classic.

Bruce Summerhays: Another ironman, Summerhays has three top-10 finishes, including a tie for sixth last week at the Emerald Coast.

Lanny Wadkins: Like Kite, another of the rookies everyone expected to do well this year. Wadkins did shine at the ACE Group Classic, winning a four-way playoff, but his subsequent finishes were 40th, 47th and 59th.

Tom Watson: He hasn't played much, but he's been good when he has teed it up. He lost a playoff to Wadkins at the ACE Group Classic, and was eighth in both of his other starts. Won eight majors on the PGA Tour.