This Toshiba gains ‘Instant Classic’ status

BRYCE ALDERTON

It only took one shot for the 2005 Toshiba Senior Classic to stake

its claim as one the most memorable, and dramatic, in tournament

annals.

Have you exhaled yet?

The roars from Newport Beach Country Club should have found your

house by now.

It was only late Sunday afternoon, with the sun setting and

shadows creeping, that a relatively unknown former beer truck driver

grabbed the hearts of golf fans -- if they hadn’t latched on to this

story already -- gathered for the final round.

His name is Mark Johnson and his tool was a gap wedge.

Johnson, who drove beer trucks for a distributorship out of

Barstow for 18 years before switching career gears to professional

golf, hit arguably the most important shot of his life to this stage

from 91 yards out on the par-5 18th hole.

Johnson led Keith Fergus by two strokes heading to the 18th tee,

but pushed his drive into the right rough and had to pitch out with a

6-iron.

That left the 91-yard third shot.

The ball hit three feet in front of the back-left pin and hopped a

few feet past.

Then backspin willed it into the bottom of the cup, creating a

roar that spread like wildfire throughout the course.

Tournament sealed and a championship to remember for an event that

has witnessed three playoffs, two spanning nine holes, and hailed 10

winners in its 11-year history.

Shots like Johnson’s are why the tournament is called the Toshiba

Senior Classic.

“There have been so many great ones, but this year’s couldn’t have

been much better,” said Jerry Anderson, Newport Beach Country Club’s

general manager. “I didn’t think anyone could compare with Bob Murphy

and Jay Sigel in a playoff [in 1997], which at the time was the

longest playoff in tour history [nine holes].”

Anderson was walking parallel to the 18th green and reached the

top of a mound when he heard the thunder from the crowd and looked

back at Johnson.

“It was like the air went out of a pumpkin,” Anderson said. “He

was in total shock. Someone had a magic wand. It was a Cinderella

finish.”

Johnson, nicknamed the Beer Man, gained a cult-like following

throughout the weekend as he sought his first professional victory.

Johnson, who wore a Bud Light cap and a shirt with a Michelob

logo, scorched the course for an 8-under-par, second-round 63 to

stake a three-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes.

He used to wake up at 4:30 a.m. and would deliver 600 to 1,000

cases of beer a day.

In a good year, he said he would earn $35,000.

Now with financial help of sponsors and encouragement from family,

friends and colleagues back in Helendale, Calif., he’s delivering

birdies and took home $247,500 for his victory Sunday, which beat his

prior golf winnings from Champions Tour, PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour

events combined by slightly more than $31,000.

Johnson shot a final-round 1-under 70, where players targeted

flagsticks positioned four to six paces off the edge of all 18

greens.

Positioning made all the difference on approach shots.

Johnson had that down on 18, where crowds eight to 10 spectators

deep circled the green, along with thousands in the skyboxes and

hospitality tents.

Jake Rohrer, who co-chaired his eighth and final Toshiba, said

Sunday’s dramatics rivaled 1999’s five-hole playoff in terms of

memorable moments.

John Jacobs and eventual champion Gary McCord vied for both a

championship and for the next joke to tell the gallery.

But this latest installment had something else.

“That one [1999] went over five holes and not everyone was there

the whole time,” Rohrer said. “[On Sunday] everyone was still there

on 18. In terms of a popular finish -- everyone was yelling, “Beer

Man” -- this is the most fans that have ever gotten into it at the

finish. They adopted him [Johnson].”

Johnson, who said he’s been sober for 23 years and uses a bag with

O’Douls emblazoned on its sides, said after his victory that the

“Beer Man” moniker doesn’t bother him and is glad so many fans have

caught on.

After a shot like that on 18 and the story to go with it, who

wouldn’t?

It’s quite refreshing to see a golfer thank those who have helped

him along the way.

A dose of humility is always welcome.

“I think he’s a great champion for us,” Anderson said. “According

to some tour officials, he is the real thing.”

And this Toshiba was the real thing.