Golf in Haas’ blood

NEWPORT BEACH — When most think of the face of golf, names like Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods immediately come to mind.

But Toshiba Classic defending champion Jay Haas’ long lineage of family golfers is so impressive that he could stake a claim to that image as well.

Haas delighted the crowd at the Newport Beach Marriott Tuesday morning as the keynote speaker of the annual Allergan, “Breakfast with a Champion,” attended by some 300 community and business leaders.

In an interview with Daily Pilot Publisher Tom Johnson, Haas, who first swung a club at the age of 5, recounted his early playing days with his uncle Bob Goalby, who won the Masters in 1968.

“I was very fortunate to have him teach me to swing,” he said, noting that Goalby was at the Toshiba last year when Haas won the tournament.

In addition to Goalby, Haas’ brother Jerry is a former pro who now teaches at his alma mater, Wake Forest. His brother-in-law Dillard Pruitt played on the Tour and is now a rules official and both his sons, Jay Jr. and Bill are PGA professionals.

So what happens when they all get together for a round of golf?

“We don’t have to hunt for a lot of lost balls,” he joked. Haas also recounted his days on the Ryder Cup team and his many years on the PGA Tour, admitting that he was disappointed to have never one a major tournament.

And while he attended Wake Forest in the shadow of legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, there is someone else he puts at the top of the golfing pedestal nowadays.

“In all my years of playing, I’ve never seen anything like Tiger,” he said.

Haas, 54, who marveled that he is still playing golf past the age of 50, also paid homage to the Newport Beach Country Club and the Toshiba Classic.

“The first year I played here was two years ago and I loved the golf course from the start,” he said. “To have people like Toshiba sponsoring us and bringing us here, we are living a dream.”

Tournament Chairman Ira Garbutt, in his first year in the role, told the breakfast crowd that he hopes to be delivering a check for $1 million in the near future to Dr. Richard Afable, the CEO of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the biggest recipient of the Toshiba proceeds. “Our efforts have a direct impact on the health and well being of everyone in the community,” Garbutt said.

Indeed, Afable told the crowd that last year Hoag admitted 27,500 people into the hospital for medical care. The hospital staff treated 275,000 out patients and 5,000 babies were born.

The money from Toshiba goes directly to the hospital foundation and in turn to fund Hoag’s medical facilities, Afable said.

But aside from the money Toshiba provides for health care, Garbutt cited the huge financial boost the tournament brings to the local economy.

“The economic impact can only be measured in the millions of dollars,” he said.

Garbutt noted that while golfers like Haas enjoy coming to Newport Beach to play the country club course, their wives also love to shop at all the high-end stores.

He told a joke about a pro golfer on the putting green last year who quipped: “I have to finish in the top 10 here to break even.”

Mark Simons, a Toshiba vice president, told the crowd that the tournament is a great way for the 1,500 employees of Toshiba Orange County to get involved in their own community.

“At Toshiba, we have a vision that we create products that enhance our lives,” Simons said.

Simons and his company handed out $125,000 worth of computers to high school students Tuesday. In addition, two students were singled out for special scholarships of $10,000 each, one of them being Talhia Nuñez of Costa Mesa High, who said she is the first in her family with plans to attend college. The other winner was Alex Woods of Mission Viejo High.

The other finalists who won laptops Tuesda, included:

 Ashley Etemadi, Corona del Mar High

 Jennifer Corona, Estancia

 Rafael Sanchez, Newport Harbor High

 Sarah Belford, Woodbridge High

 Benjamin Neidhardt, Trabuco Hills High

 Abigail Nunez, Laguna Hills High

 Andrew Pham, El Toro High

 Mark Lee, Irvine High

 Stephanie Lin, Northwood High

 Vivian Yee, University High

TONY DODERO may be reached at (714) 966-4608 or by e-mail at [email protected].