By HOWARD WARD

It was only five years ago that the golf world marveled at the success of the U.S. Women’s Open held at Pine Needles. Now, with the sequel only days away, expectations are soaring.

All indications are that the 2001 Open championship will be bigger, better and more spectacular than anything the USGA has experienced in women’s golf.

Children 15 and under are being admitted free with a ticketed adult. Packages are available that include a $12 daily ticket for practice rounds May 28-30, $20 daily tickets for the championship May 31-June 1, and $25 daily tickets for the final two rounds June 2-3.

The USGA and Pine Needles are sponsoring a "Kids Get a Front Row Seat" program open to those 15 and under and there are several activities involving youth during the week.

On Monday, May 28, NASCAR driver Kyle Petty will "Race to the Tee" with Open contestants in a team challenge. Two junior golfers will be selected to join in this.

On Tuesday, May 29, world-renowned soccer star Mia Hamm, a former University of North Carolina All-American, will join with two other soccer players, Carla Overbeck and Wendy Gebauer, to play golf with Juli Inkster, Betsy King and Laura Davies in a four-hole match on the new practice course which recently opened.

On Wednesday, May 30, Peggy Kirk Bell, owner of Pine Needles and a hall of fame instructor and golfing legend, will participate in a clinic with two other golf all-time greats, Patty Berg and Kathy Whitworth. All of these events begin at 2:30 p.m.

Front-row seats in all the on-course grandstands will be available to youths, and there will be a putting green set up solely for their use. There will also be a golf course scavenger hunt.

Activities are offered Monday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Thursday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Reg Jones, the Championship Director, is scurrying to make sure all the final details have been nailed down. He rushes into his office at Pine Needles out of breath and out of time.

It takes corporate money to make anything in the sports world a success, and the Women’s Open is blessed with a lot of that, thanks to Jones and his management staff’s diligent pursuit and the cooperation of major businesses that don’t mind having their names associated with a major event.

The 1996 Women’s Open was such a success that USGA officials had a hard time waiting until Annika Sorenstam had holed out her winning putt to announce that they would be back in 2001. A total of $1.1 million in corporate money and a record 108,000 spectators for the week were exciting stuff.

The golfers were happy, too, as they found the Donald Ross-designed Pine Needles course to be the test they had expected. Only Sorenstam and Kris Tschetter were able to break par during the week.

But everything is upscaled for this year. The corporate money is doubled and ticket sales promise to exceed last year’s record of 115,000.

"We’re very fortunate to have such a solid North Carolina base," Jones said. "We’re dealing with clients who have been with us for a long time. The majority of the 1996 group is back, plus some from the 1999 Men’s Open at Pinehurst."

Having that core group back is important, according to Jones.

"It helps us in developing the look and feel of what the championship is all about," he said. "Most of the venders were with us in 1996 and our relationship with them is very important. It enables us to put on a quality event and make people realize that this is a world championship. You need quality people to do that. The people we’re dealing with are the best in the business at what they do.

"The footprints from ’96 are here. We’re just trying to build on what we have.

"We’re definitely expecting an attendance record again. That’s one of the championship’s goals. Everything else is there and that’s the last element of what we’re trying to do. I wake up every morning thinking about ticket sales."

Jones, a 32-year-old native of Hendersonville and a graduate of Wake Forest University, began working on the Women’s Open in July of 1999, immediately following completion of the Men’s Open at Pinehurst. He was Director of Operations for the 1996 championship and has benefited greatly from that experience.

"There was no learning curve here," he said. "We pretty much know what works and what doesn’t. We’ve been working at a pretty fast pace since we started."

Jennifer Andrews is in charge of coordinating volunteers for the championship and counts her blessings when she checks the available list.

"There were 1,700 volunteers in 1996," she said, "and we’ve increased that to 2,500 this year. We’re so fortunate to have such a strong base to draw from here. There are so many people who are active in golf as well as it being a retirement community.

"We began the application process in November of 1999 and the list was full in June of 2000. We now have 300 on the waiting list."

Jones agrees. "We have access to the most seasoned volunteers you could possibly have," he said.

"We’re also fortunate to have the cooperation of companies such as Time-Warner and Carolina Power and Light and the local work force that they have here. They give us tremendous support.

"It takes a lot of good people to put on a championship."

For ticket information, call (800) 295-2094, or check the web site at http://www.2001uswomensopen.com