Shhh, it's Tiger's tournament

Most of America wouldn't have Countrywide Financial on a list of admired companies, but the world of professional golf is not most of America. In that world, money conquers all. So during this weekend's Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, the Countrywide name is all over the place (it's been a sponsor for years). The mortgage lender is also running commercials for the TV broadcast, pushing all kinds of loans and not about to clue in the audience on the fact that it's having a few problems with those, er, subprime loans. In case you forgot, Countrywide is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commssion in connection with CEO Angelo Mozilo's stock activities and by state attorneys general in California and Illinois in connection with the company's lending policies.

Another big sponsor of the Target Challenge: Dole Food, which has its own problems with potential culpability involving tainted produce and, most recently, with an L.A. jury ordering it to pay five Nicaraguan banana plantation workers $2.5 million as punishment for concealing the dangers of a pesticide that rendered them unable to have children. That follows a Nov. 5 jury award of $3.2 million in compensatory damages. Dole is running some ads during the golf telecast that has animated bananas doing a Busby Berkeley fresh fruit routine. Cute. With Tiger Woods hosting - and leading - the event, and with much of the country shivering, you can expect a sizeable audience for what is basically an exhibition.

By the way, David Murdock, the octogenarian billionaire and health enthusiast who owns Westlake Village-based Dole Food, unloaded Sherwood over the summer for $20 million. Buyers are a group of Sherwood's members, including Tom Selleck.