Golfers get wild wind

      A trio of the Senior PGA Tour's biggest stars think there might be a new winner of the Las Vegas Senior Classic at the Tournament Players Club at The Canyons.
      It isn't an unfamiliar foe to Hale Irwin, Raymond Floyd or two-time defending champion Jim Colbert, either.
      "Look out for the wind," Colbert said, chuckling. "If it's like this, it could be tough."
      If the wind is as stiff as it was Thursday, when Senior PGA Tour officials canceled the pro-am round, playing the 6,839-yard par-71 layout could be tricky.
      A Las Vegas resident, Colbert won the last two events when they were played at TPC-Summerlin. But with the new site and windy conditions, Colbert isn't sure what to expect.
      "I kind of lost my homecourt advantage," Colbert said. "That other course, over the years I've played it quite a bit. Before this week, I've only played the new course once. I played with my wife and my grandson a couple of months ago, and I did play three practice rounds here the last couple of days."
      Colbert was one of the fortunate players to get in a few practice holes. Many did not and will play the course for the first time this morning at the start of the 54-hole tournament.
      That, combined with the blustery conditions, can make the scores higher than normal.
      "I have no clue where the first tee is," Irwin said. "I don't know how I'm going to get around, so that in and of itself is going to add a little something to the scoring.
      "By Saturday, I will know where the first tee is, but if the wind drops, will I know the first hole? It could be a completely different hole. I don't care if you know the course like the back of your hand. If you're playing in these kind of conditions, it is very difficult to maintain any kind of timing, any kind of rhythm.
      "Your rhythm is disrupted not only by the elements but by not knowing the golf course. By Saturday, Sunday, after we've been around once or twice, we'll start getting familiar with the routing, and you might start being able to score."
      Floyd, who designed the course along with noted architect Bobby Weed, said features built into the course should lessen the impact the wind has on play.
      "We have very liberal landing areas," Floyd said. "We have wide expanse in the fairways. Why? Because the wind blows out here year-round, and you get high winds. All of that went into the thought process in designing this course. We can go out and play in 30 mph winds because of the design of this golf course. And I am especially proud of that."
      Still, Floyd conceded that there likely will not be the 7-under or 8-under scores if the wind doesn't die a bit. He said the trickiest condition for a professional golfer to play is wind.
      Floyd, 20th on the money list, said the course's condition will also be a factor in scoring. And he praised the course for its excellent shape.
      "I could not believe it (Wednesday) when I came out here to play golf," Floyd said. "I have never seen a golf course in such incredible ... it looks like a nursery. They're on a pace to play 55,000 or 60,000 rounds here. I don't see any ball marks on the green, I don't see divots in the fairways. It looks like it's just opened. It's truly incredible."
      And incredible is how one might describe the last two seasons for Colbert, in which he won $3.07 million and nine tournaments. Two came in Las Vegas, but Colbert pointed out that they came on a different course.
      He said that despite Las Vegas being his hometown, he would approach the tournament like any of the others he plays.
      "As we talk, I'm the champion, but (today), there's a championship up for grabs," Colbert said. "I never look at it like I'm defending anything. Once they hit the first ball (today), I'm a past champion. Now, there is a tournament up for grabs. That's the way I've approached it and I've been reasonably successful at it. I've won here twice, I won at Kansas City twice and I won the Vantage three times.
      "I've done pretty well on courses I've done well on in the past. But I don't know what that means this week because we've changed courses. We'll find out, though."
      The tournament is sponsored by TruGreen Chemlawn.