WORLD GOLF VILLAGE DEBUTS IN FL AMID POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

          The World Golf Village "began its grand celebration"
     Saturday with a party for development partners, corporate
     sponsors, members of the Hall of Fame and their guests,
     according to Garry Smits of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION.  A day
     of golf at the Golf Village's new course was followed by
     "dedication ceremonies, the lighting of the tower, live
     music and fireworks."  The events continued yesterday,
     highlighted by a Smokey Robinson concert, and today, Johnny
     Miller and Nick Faldo will be inducted as the newest members
     of the World Golf Hall of Fame (TIMES-UNION, 5/16). On "Pro
     Golf Weekly," CNN/SI's Jaime Diaz: "Golf has long needed a
     unified Hall of Fame, and as the sport continues to gain
     unprecedented popularity, its own version of Cooperstown
     couldn't have come at a better time" (CNN, 5/17). 
          WEEKEND NOTES: In Jacksonville, Smits & Daniels wrote
     that Shell and IBM are the major sponsors of the Village,
     and both companies have a "subtle presence throughout the
     Hall of Fame."  World Golf Foundation Dir of Marketing &
     Corporate Sponsorships Mark Berman: "It was a prerequisite
     to secure companies that did not want to have a huge
     presence at the Village" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/17)....In
     other news, the PGA of America is expected to make a
     donation of "at least" $1M to First Tee, a World Golf
     Village Foundation program (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/17).