Chief execs master golf not business

It's not only Sun Microsystems' share price that has been plummeting: chief executive Scott McNealy's golf handicap has fallen dramatically.

In recognition of his efforts on the golf course he was this week named as the top chief executive golfer by a US magazine.

Since the last biennial poll, McNealy's handicap has gone from 3.3 to just 0.3, meaning that he plays off scratch.

He's evidently finding it as tough as propping up Sun's share price, which is down from more that $60 to less than $4 over the same period.

"I hate my handicap where it is right now. I can't make any money," he told the magazine.

McNealy's 0.3 rating comfortably outranks second placed Curt Culver of MGIC Investment (2.9) and third placed William (Jerry) Jurgensen of Nationwide (3.8).

In fourth position is another hi-tech executive, Intuit's Steve Bennett (4.6), who claimed that only honest chief execs played golf. "No mulligans - ever," he said.

McNealy, who also plays on five amateur hockey teams, finished in the 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as Most Valuable Amateur.

"There have to be better things than golf to beat up on us for," he told Golf Digest when asked about those who criticise executives over the pastime.

Fifty-four of the Golf Digest 200 chief executive golfers in America who head either a Fortune 500 or Standard & Poor's 500 publicly traded company have single-digit handicaps.

Former Enron chief exec Ken Lay has played in the past but failed to make the 2000 list because his 32.9 rating was years out of date, according to the magazine.

While the vast majority of golfers are male, Patricia Russo (12.4), head of Lucent Technologies, became the first woman to make the rankings (at 92nd).

Other hi-tech bosses that made the list include Tom Siebel (108th), Microsoft's Steve Ballmer (155th) and National Semiconductor's Brian Halla (221st).