Caddie charts course for Ultimate windfall

As a caddie, Ken Jarner has walked The Wynn Golf & Country Club more than 300 times.

He has played the par-70 layout more than 100 times, and before Wednesday he held the course record of 63.

So if any of the 12 finalists for the $2 million prize in The Ultimate Game, to be played today and Friday at the Wynn Las Vegas course, has an insider advantage, it figures to be to Jarner.

"There isn't a square inch of that golf course I don't know about," Jarner said. "It has to give me a little benefit, but you still have to hit the shots."

Jarner, 43, is one of three Las Vegans in the field. Chris Berry, 31, played on UNLV's 1998 national championship team and was second for individual honors. Bonanza High School product Scott Piercy, 28, plays on the Hooters Tour and competed in three PGA Tour events this year.

Rick Rhoden, 54, probably is the most recognizable player in the field. He was a two-time All-Star pitcher in a 16-year major league career, going 151-125 with a 3.59 ERA.

From there, Rhoden moved to golf and has won 43 times on the Celebrity Golf Tour, including six times at Lake Tahoe. He has three career top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour.

"He can stand the pressure, and he probably does not need the money," said Lee Trevino, who is part of the Fox broadcast team announcing the event. "There is a big difference in that. He has been there and he has battled it.

"I think that he has probably played more medal-play golf than the other players, and there is a big difference between playing medal play and match play. Big, big difference. It is like in baseball playing the World Series."

Ten of the 12 finalists have won back their $50,000 entry fee plus another $50,000. Because they made the finals as wild cards, Rhoden and Erik Compton, 27, simply have earned back their fee. Compton broke Jarner's course record this week, firing a 62.

On Friday, only the winner will get paid, receiving the largest check in golf history, and Jarner hopes to cash it for a larger home and a Porsche for his wife, Agnes.

Like Rhoden, Jarner began in baseball. He was selected as a shortstop in the 34th round of the 1986 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, but after about three years he never made it out of Class A.

Jarner then became a supermarket grocery bagger before getting a job in golf that allowed him to play.

"In four years I went from A ball in baseball to Triple A in golf because the Nike Tour at the time was the second biggest in golf," Jarner said.

The Nike Tour -- now the Nationwide Tour -- was not easy, though, and Jarner did not make much of a dent. Also, living out of a suitcase prompted him to head to Palm Springs, Calif., in the mid-1990s and get a job as a course assistant.

He moved to Las Vegas in 1998 and later became a caddie at Bear's Best for three years. He then moved to the Wynn.

Competition is not out of his blood, and perhaps a strong performance in The Ultimate Game could help give him another run at the sport.

"I've always wanted to be a professional golfer," Jarner said. "That's the reason I got into the golf business. I got out of the golf business because I didn't have the backing to get back out on the tour."

A $2 million check wouldn't hurt in trying to return.