Golf column, Thicker than water

There are two children, a boy and a girl, with cystic fibrosis. For

Christmas, their uncle Keith will try to help them by raising funds in a

golf tournament today.

Keith Wyrick, the affable and longtime Newport Beach Golf Course

starter and course record holder, has created a mini senior tour event --

the inaugural Holiday Invitational Pro-Am (9 a.m. shotgun start).

With a $2,000 purse at stake for senior golfers, Wyrick has blended

three concepts -- a senior tournament, a fund-raising vehicle for a

cystic fibrosis charity and a family theme.

Wyrick, who has never lost his dream of one day getting a crack at

becoming the next Allen Doyle on the Senior PGA Tour, is experienced in

running golf tournaments, having operated the Record Setters Day Pro-Am

Golf Tournament at Newport Beach in the mid-90s.

But this one’s different. These kids, whose family prefers anonymity,

are close to Wyrick’s heart.

Not that it has anything to do with it, but Wyrick became a father for

the first time recently, and in terms of heading up golf tournaments, he

can lasso and wrangle with the best of them in the rodeo.

And, like Doyle, Wyrick has a short backswing that you have to see to

believe, considering he plays Newport Beach Golf Course (a par-59

executive course) under 60.

The small, 15-foursome Holiday Invitational Pro-Am is sold out, but

golf fans finished with their Christmas shopping can stop by and watch

the seniors battle it out in what is believed to be the final charity

tournament in the Newport-Mesa community this millennium (according to

popular celebration).

The Holiday Invitational Pro-Am will feature a family theme in each

foursome, meaning any combination of mother/daughter, father/son,

mother/son or father/daughter will be playing in the unique event.

“Why is there a family theme? Because it’s the holidays and that’s the

way I am -- family’s everything,” Wyrick said.

Wyrick is hoping the Holiday Invitational Pro-Am will be the opening

stages of an Orange County Senior Open.

Today’s event is an experiment, with pros like John Sullivan, Tony

Forrester and John Hartman playing for a purse in a two best-ball format

for the foursomes.

Wyrick, the tournament director, said players will feast afterward at

a prime rib luncheon. There will be a clinic prior to the morning shotgun

start.

Invited guests this year, Wyrick said, will include actors David

Nelson and Mike Villani, former Newport Beach Mayor Tom Edwards and

Newport Beach Golf Course owners Chris Jones and Steve Lane.

An event to benefit Children’s Hospital of Orange County will be held

March 27 at Newport Beach Country Club, following the 2000 Toshiba Senior

Classic.

The event is sponsored by The Ritz restaurant, which is hosting the

post-golf festivities, including an informal fashion show, silent

auction, gourmet dinner and entertainment by a Flamenco guitarist,

pianist and violinist. There is a hosted Martini bar.

The golf tournament features 36 celebrities from the world of

entertainment and sports, as well as a $1 million hole in one contest.

The field is limited to 300.

Sponsor prices range from $2,500 to $10,000, while individual player

packages are $500 each. Details: Contact Annie Nelson at Wish Sports

Enterprises, (949) 721-WISH (9474).

Speaking of the Toshiba Classic, defending champion Gary McCord, who

brought the house down last year during his hysterical and memorable

playoff victory over John Jacobs, will return to the scene of the crime

in a press conference Jan. 10.

“(McCord) will discuss his newfangled legacy as a champion, his

expectations for 2000, and probably a handful of other topics nobody can

possibly anticipate,” said Hoag Hospital publicist Chris Premer, whose

company is the event’s operating charity.

In a five-hole playoff that eliminated half of its four-player field

with a pair of thrill-seeking birdies on the first playoff hole by McCord

and Jacobs, McCord won in his senior tour debut.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.