A friendly, familiar face

At this point in Dave Stockton’s career, sometimes he’d rather be hunting than golfing. For the most part, he gets to pick and choose which Champions Tour tournaments he will compete in.

But when it comes to the Toshiba Classic, Stockton has no choice. Every year he knows he’ll be in Newport Beach in March.

Stockton has played Toshiba every year since its inception in 1995 at Mesa Verde Country Club, the only time the tournament has been played anywhere but the Newport Beach Country Club. Stockton tied for second in the tournament’s inaugural year.

“It’s one of the tour’s better tournaments,” Stockton said. “But it’s not like I have any choice. The wives tell us we’re going to play this tournament so they can go shopping at Fashion Island.”

It’s safe to say Stockton and his wife, former Orange Show beauty queen Catherine Hales, have different priorities when they come to Newport Beach every year.

“My wife and I come here for different reasons,” he said.

Aside from being next to Fashion Island, it’s the closest Champions Tour tournament to Stockton’s home in San Bernardino and gives him a chance to catch up with old USC buddies. Stockton followed in his father’s footsteps and played golf at USC. His mother and two sons also went to USC.

Stockton was a three-time All-American at USC (he was also an honorable mention selection). His son, Dave Stockton Jr., was an All-American honorable mention pick in 1989.

The USC connection makes Toshiba a classic weekend for Stockton.

“A lot of people from USC come, it’s basically a party for a week,” Stockton said.

Except on the course, where Stockton has to keep his focus while his wife is running up the credit card bills at Fashion Island and his old buddies are partying it up.

And if you don’t take heed of the tricky greens at the Newport Beach Country Club, trouble can ensue.

“The course can be frustrating,” Stockton said. “It’s short and you think you’ll shoot the lights out every day. But the greens have lots of little slopes. Putting is the biggest challenge.”

Stockton tied for eighth place at last year’s Toshiba Classic, and has had a lot of success there, including his second-place finish in 1995.

So does he go there expecting to contend for the title every year?

“Yes,” he said. “Of course.”

Stockton, who has been playing professionally since 1964, has won five majors (two PGA Championships, the 1996 Senior Open and two Senior Player Championships) during his career. He has 11 tournament wins on the PGA Tour and 14 wins on the Champions Tour. Stockton, who was born and raised in San Bernardino and graduated from USC with a business degree, has pocketed more than $10 million in his career.

Stockton not only finished tied for eighth in the Toshiba Classic last year, he may have had a hand in Mark Johnson’s triumphant victory last year.

Stockton, 64, has been around pro golf for more than 40 years. Johnson, also known as “the beer man” because he drove an Anheuser Busch truck for H. Olson Distributing in Barstow, is a relative newcomer to pro golf.

When Johnson made his debut on the Champions Tour in 2005, Stockton went out of his way to make the newcomer feel welcome on tour.

“Dave Stockton has taken me under his wings to help me out,” Johnson said. “At my very first event in Grand Rapids two years ago, he put a nice note in my locker saying if you need anything, come by and see me because I’ll be there to help you in any way.

“From there, that day, we became very good friends. If there’s situation or problems I have, Dave’s there. We play a lot of practice rounds together and it’s been awesome to have someone like that to guide you around because you know what he has meant to the regular tour and the Champions Tour.

“I’m pretty fortunate to have someone like that helping me out.”

In his usual quiet style, Stockton downplays his role in Johnson’s success.

“It was a magnificent win for him,” Stockton said. “I just told him to be aggressive, that it’s not a long course and to adjust your game accordingly.”

Dispensing advice and providing guidance to new players like Johnson is not all there is for Stockton. He still has plenty of game left on the golf course. So far this year, in six rounds of golf, Stockton has shot in the 60s four times and had two top-25 finishes despite skipping a tournament in Hawaii.

“I don’t do too much golfing during hunting season,” Stockton said.

Stockton hunts ducks and geese at the Salton Sea and he said he does some hunting in Mexico, south of Ensenada.

But Stockton, who counts being captain of the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1991 at Kiawah Island, S.C. as his proudest achievement, is tickled to have picked a sport he can still compete in well into his 60s.

“You get to play a lot longer these days,” Stockton said. “Before, you figured you’d get to play until you’re 40, or your early 40s, then you go to work for the first time.