The Crowd

B.W. Cook

Golf champ and TV star Gary McCord flew into Newport Beach this week from

his home in Phoenix to shake a few hands and warm up the crowd in

anticipation of the upcoming 2000 Toshiba Senior Classic Golf Tournament

set for Feb. 28 through March 5 at The Newport Beach Country Club.

This fifth annual senior golf event will once again benefit Hoag

Hospital. The community is readying and rallying for the televised tour’s

arrival, setting in motion all of the strategic planning required to

produce the massive weeklong extravaganza that is not just about golf,

but also about corporate hospitality, community relations, travel and

tourism and of course, charity.

In short, the Toshiba is good for the entire community. Revenue generated

by the event filters through many levels of Newport-Mesa business and

professional strata. And most important, the money raised for Hoag is

substantial and will assist in the overall renovation of the hospital

facility. Organizers hope to hit the $1 million mark this year, the third

year the tournament has been organized by Hoag volunteers working with

Toshiba and the PGA.

Jake Rohrer and Hank Adler, co-chairs of the Hoag-sponsored event, were

on hand Monday as last year’s champion, McCord, arrived to greet the

local crowd. Rohrer explained that the tournament is expanding its

charitable reach by creating a new scholarship program for local high

school students.

“This first year, the tournament will offer four students in the

Newport-Harbor Unified School District and the Irvine Unified School

District $2,500 grants plus a Toshiba computer,” he said. “We wanted to

develop an annual program that would provide ongoing benefits for young

people here in this community.”

Adler supplied information on the application process.

“Students must apply by Feb. 1. Applications are available in the offices

of the local schools. Students applying must be seniors in the top half

of their class, and they need to receive a recommendation from the

school’s scholarship committee, demonstrate leadership and involvement in

community and extracurricular activities.”

As McCord joked with the attendees of the breakfast gathering at the

country club, Toshiba tournament director Jeff Purser, considered one of

the best organizers on the golf tour, explained some of the highlights of

the event.

A celebrity pro-am kickoff party is set for Feb. 27, with a host of golf

and media stars on the guest list. Golf begins the morning of Feb. 28,

with the celebrity pro-am shotgun round.

Special events are scheduled the remainder of the week, with the actual

Senior Classic teeing off March 3, covered by ESPN. The final round of

play will be on March 5, as golfers compete for $1.3 million in prize

money. Organizers confirm that corporate sponsorship is at an all-time

high, and the army of white hospitality tents will be in full service.

To operate the tournament and raise the money for Hoag, some 1,200

volunteers will be needed to run both the greens and the guest

accommodations, Adler said. John Dimario is handling volunteer

recruiting, with Ron Singer, Fausta Vitali and Peter Cuneo supervising

other volunteer activities.

Other dedicated Hoag/Toshiba volunteers include Dean Gale, Jackie

Bouchey, Sheila Thomsen, Mary Boyle, Becky Dahl, Bill Dahl, Gayle Morrow,

Courtney Emery, Bill Pierpoint, Sean O’Conner and Bruce Olson, to name

only a few.

Meanwhile, Newport Beach County Club executive Jerry Anderson is

confident that the course, the club and the community are ready and

excited to host the event.

“The only thing I need is a little rain between now and the tournament.

There’s nothing like rain to make a golf course really green,” Anderson

said. “We just don’t want any rain during the event.”

For more information on volunteering, call the tournament office at (949)

515-4840.B.W. COOK’S column appears every Thursday and Saturday.