Peace on earth at Toshiba

Welcome to the Toshiba Senior Classic, a welcome relief from the rest

of the world, which can be quite the antithesis of a peaceful par-3

shot over water at Newport Beach Country Club.

As tens of thousands of people fill the paths between fairways at

Newport Beach for the PGA Champions Tour event, winter will turn to

spring, and those who shoot 78 or so will grumble about the bumpy poa

annua on the greens, while those with low scores will rave about the

place.

It has been said by myriad players on tour that Newport Beach is

the perfect seniors golf course, although tour officials these days

might wince when they hear or read “senior” anymore, but we’ll stay

away from that topic and give the tour its opportunity to look

younger. After all, this is Newport Beach -- the tour’s new concept

should fit well.

While the 50-and-over golf pros arrive here worried more about

arthritis than child care, they are largely the brunt of all banquets

and pro-am birdies during tournament week. They’re the circus act,

the cowboys in the rodeo. If warm, sunny weather blankets the week,

there could be record crowds at this year’s Toshiba Classic, played

at the latest in the calendar year in its nine-year history, topping

the inaugural Toshiba Classic at Mesa Verde Country Club, which

hosted the final round on March 19. It has never been officially

springtime during Toshiba weekends.

The fans will come to see legends of the game, the greats named

Trevino and Stockton and Watson and Kite, the ambassadors like Player

and Chi Chi. They come from everywhere in Southern California, not

just coastal Orange County or Newport Beach.

And tour players have always loved coming here. Even the ones who

gripe and moan about the Bermuda grass and poa annua manage to find

their way back the next year. Usually.

The Toshiba Classic’s crack volunteer staff, headed by tournament

co-chairs Jake Rohrer and Hank Adler, are pros at rolling out the red

carpet and treating the players well. Their experience stems from

operating the former Crosby Southern Pro-Am (later the Newport

Classic Pro-Am) through Hoag Hospital’s 552 Club, a major

fund-raising group.

In the addition to the tournament’s generous purse ($1.55 million

this year), easy access for the players to the airport, hotel and

golf course, and a 6,584-yard senior-friendly golf course with a

traditional layout, players like it here because of the fans.

“What’s nice about this site is that it seems to be a social thing

to do,” tour veteran Al Geiberger said, referring to the fact that

for some in the Newport Beach galleries watching golf is the last

thing on their minds.

“I think (the Champions Tour) is lucky to have this site ...

socially, people like to come out to it.”

For John Jacobs, who played in more Crosby Southern Pro-Ams (13)

than any pro in history and thus should know a little something about

visiting here, said the Toshiba Classic is one of his favorites stops

on tour.

“What makes it real cool on the golf course is that there’s not a

housing development, no homes between the fairways on the course, so

people can get in and mingle with you. When people are excited, the

players get excited,” said Jacobs, who might go down in Toshiba lore

as much for his antics during the 1999 playoff as his golf.

Dave Stockton said there are no bad stops on the tour, but Newport

would have to rate among the best for all-around benefits. “Newport

Beach has it together, no question about it,” Stockton said.

Defending Toshiba champion Hale Irwin once said he enjoys coming

here because “(tournament officials) have taken exceptional care of

us, and from a culinary perspective, it’s been great.”

As for the weather, the days we’ve been seeing lately are the type

tournament director Jeff Purser has had in mind since Hoag Hospital

hired him in September 1997 to turn the ship around. The Toshiba has

been pushed back this year to a later date -- the fourth weekend in

March, its latest ever -- and that should work to everyone’s

advantage.

“We asked the Champions Tour to move us back in the schedule, so

we believe this is a positive move for us,” Purser said. “While last

year’s weather was spectacular, we believe our chances of having

ideal conditions get better as we move later into March.”