"We might be all right up to the Millennium but then it's curtains," Jim Elkins, the special events director of Benson and Hedges, said. Yesterday, the BBC were grateful for the tournament. What else were they going to put up against the FA Cup final on ITV? Thanks in part to the influence of Bernie Ecclestone, it is fine for tobacco to whiz around the Formula One Grand Prix circuits of Europe but golf, cricket, ice hockey and snooker, all supported by Benson and Hedges in Britain, will have to find a new politically correct sponsor. Presumably something like All Bran or Lucozade would fit the bill, although the passive fall-out could be disquieting.When Bell's used to sponsor the Scottish Open, they gave the caddies a half-bottle of their product. It was a bit like donating a mountain of Old Shag to Virginia.
At the Oxfordshire neither caddies nor players were issued with a packet of 20 Instead they were given fruit. Note to Fyffes or Cox's Golden Delicious: a sponsorship opportunity will shortly be available but interested parties will have to cough up around pounds 1.25m.A cream to tackle acne would be another possible contender with the professionals of the Millennium barely out of the practice of receiving pocket money from their parents. One such is Justin Rose, the gangly teenager who is being nurtured for stardom The Rose show has been seen to good effect here. He outscored Jose Maria Olazabal in the pro-am on Wednesday and, following rounds of 72 and 68, remained at four under par for the championship with another 72 in the third round yesterday.The North Hants player, who will be 18 in July, would normally have been playing in the Brabazon Trophy at Formby, one of the mainstays of the amateur circuit.
However, Rose accepted an invitation to play at the Oxfordshire and achieved his immediate ambition, which was to make the half-way cut. It is the first time he has done so in a professional tournament."This is where I want to be," Rose, the youngest player to appear in the Walker Cup, said "I feel at home here. I had a few nerves to begin with but once I settled down I enjoyed myself."Apart form experiencing the atmosphere of a pounds 750,000 pro tournament, he also learned how to give autographs, sometimes to people who were older than himself. He may turn professional at the end of the year or wait until next season "That's the big decision," he said.
