This Strike Was Really A Hit For Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. can thank baseball’s labor troubles for his love of golf. Griffey, who lives in the same exclusive complex near Orlando, Fla., as Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara, said he took up the game when he had nothing else to do.

“It was during a bad time,” Griffey said last week when asked how he came to the game. “It was the strike (in 1994-95) and they told us to stay around the house because we might play again.”

The Seattle Mariners center fielder said he now plays four or five times a week during the off-season.

“It’s nice to hit a little white ball without having someone throw it at me,” Griffey said.

Daly bread

John Daly, whose game has shown signs of life early in the season, has signed an endorsement deal with Ancona sportswear, a manufacturer and distributor of golf apparel.

Daly, 31, had his second bout with alcohol rehabilitation last year and his clothing deal with Reebok, first signed after he won the PGA Championship in 1991, was not renewed at the end of the year.

Daly, who also won the 1995 British Open, was signed last year by Callaway Golf to play its clubs after Wilson terminated its contract with him.

Down under

Greg Norman has staged the Shark Shootout in California for seven years and the Greg Norman Holden Classic in Australia for five years with one thing in common.

“I have never won the Shark Shootout and I’ve never won this so I do have an agenda here this week,” Norman said Tuesday in Sydney.

He has some tough competition. The field includes Steve Elkington, Nick Price, John Cook and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Bear tracks

Forget about high-tech clubs, Jack Nicklaus would like to see the USGA do something about the golf ball to keep it from flying so far.

“People are getting tired of watching golf tournaments where everything is a driver and a wedge,” Nicklaus said Tuesday in Australia, where he is playing in Norman’s tournament.

“It used to be wonderful to see a guy hit a beautiful tee shot out there then hit a nice cut 3-iron into the green on a par 4 and make a nice birdie,” he said. “Now it’s, ‘Well he hit 3-wood off the tee, now is it going be wedge or sand wedge.”’ “There are so many wonderful golf courses in this world that are going to become obsolete,” he warned.

El Nino

The Buick Invitational has a strong field with Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Jesper Parnevik - a group that includes all of this year’s winners.

Now the organizers just have to keep the rain away.

The storm that washed out the Pebble Beach event up the coast over the weekend floated away the pro-am portion of the Buick Invitational on Tuesday at Torrey Pines.

The forecast for the weekend, however, looks promising.