Champions event at Nashawtuc right on course

First, they were uprooted. Next, they were nearly flooded. But when you have reliable teammates, you can be counted upon for great teamwork, so Tracy West is quite confident that all systems are go for the 26th annual Bank of America Championship.

The longest-running 54-hole tournament on the Champions Tour is just a few days away from its summer show at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord and West, the tournament director, is adamant: ``Everything is 100 percent set."

Just a few weeks ago, she wouldn't have said that, not with Mother Nature having pounded the area with relentless rain. Nashawtuc did not escape unharmed and with good reason there was anxiety, especially given the decision to push the tournament ahead by a couple of weeks.

Having settled into a late June date the last few summers, the Bank of America Championship will tee off a week from tomorrow, at a time of year when it is near impossible to get the turf hard and fast, the way tournament organizers prefer.

``They'll get a good golf course. I'm not concerned at all," said course superintendent Paul Miller. ``But it's taken an awful lot of work and it will be what it is -- grass in the Northeast in early June."

But it wasn't the grass that Champions Tour officials were concerned about when they asked West to push up her tournament; it was to adjust a hole in its schedule. What was good for the Champions Tour, however, didn't necessarily make things easier for the tournament.

``No question, we would have preferred being a few weeks later," said West, whose tournament next summer will be June 22-24. ``That third week in June is nice. But we were glad to help out the Tour. We like to be a good partner."

The challenge of getting the turf dried presented the biggest hurdle, and it became more of one when Mother Nature got riled up two weeks ago. ``But the Sudbury River is back where it belongs," said Miller, ``and we've actually been mowing the grass in the low areas where the water had settled."

While it's been far less noticeable, another challenge is very much part of the landscape -- that is, the number of volunteers who can't accommodate the new schedule. Many of them are teachers and students and, for many, school is in session. West concedes her staff has been busy making sure the quota of standard-bearers is filled for all the pro-ams and gave praise to the number of retired people who ``are stepping up and doing extra shifts."

As for the golf, which is what drives this event, defending champion Mark McNulty heads a field that yesterday got a commitment from Peter Jacobsen, No. 8 on the money list. He joins Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bruce Fleisher, Mark James, Gary McCord, Don Pooley, Tom Purtzer, Des Smythe, Curtis Strange, D.A. Weibring, and Chi Chi Rodriguez, as well as local stalwarts Dana Quigley and Allen Doyle. Adding more flavor, longtime New England PGA standouts Kirk Hanefeld and Rick Karbowski will be in the field as Champions Tour rookies.

Karbowski is currently 55th on the money list ($103,544), while Hanefeld made a stirring debut as a senior golfer last weekend, just one day after blowing out 50 candles on the cake. The director of golf at The International in Bolton, Hanefeld opened 73-71 to easily make the cut at the Senior PGA Championship in Edmond, Okla., then nearly shot himself out of contention with a 79. But he rebounded brilliantly, shooting 68 on Sunday, just one of eight sub-70 scores on the day, to get into a share of 19th place. The $23,000 check pushed him to 96th on the money list as Hanefeld needs to do a full year's worth of work in just half the time.

``I know they're excited and we're excited that they'll be here," said West, whose field will be solidified at 5 p.m. tomorrow. It will not include Arnold Palmer, however, because the 76 -year-old icon will continue to stay away from tournament golf. He has played in each of the last seven Bank of America Championships, but Palmer hasn't been involved in any tournaments in 2006 and just this week released a statement explaining his renewed commitment not to playing, but to his course-design business.

So the King will not be along for this year's ride, but so many of the usual Tour standouts will be.

``And a lot of players are looking forward to coming to Boston, I can tell you that," said Dave Stockton from Polk City, Iowa, where the Tour is camped out for this week's Allianz Championship. Stockton said that tour officials have ``been pushing us to the very tips every week," so it will be a nice change to be at a familiar place [Nashawtuc CC] that isn't so much about length as it is accuracy.

``We love that tournament," he said.