Toshiba Senior Classic: The forgotten story

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - It was a thrill to see Al Geiberger, one of the

nicest guys in all of sports, atop the leaderboard in the final round of

last year’s Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.

Geiberger, as most have forgotten, had a chance to win the tournament

on the last hole.

But, while it was great for many golf fans to watch “Mr. 59” play so

well, it was equally as heartbreaking to witness him blow a four-foot

putt for par that would’ve given Geiberger, 62, his first Senior PGA Tour

title since the 1996 Greater Naples (Fla.) IntelliNet Challenge.

The affable Geiberger, instead, forced a four-man playoff, eventually

won by showman Gary McCord, and everybody remembers what happened from

there.

Geiberger, who has a history of playing well in Orange County,

would’ve been only the sixth super senior (60 and older) to capture both

titles -- the regular Toshiba Classic championship and the “tournament

within a tournament” for the super seniors.

Five times in Senior PGA Tour history, a player has won both the super

senior and regular tournament during the same weekend. Hall of Famer Gary

Player was the last to accomplish the unique “double dip” at the 1998

Northville Long Island Classic.

Jimmy Powell (twice, the 1995 First of America and ’96 Brickyard

Crossing), Dale Douglass (’96 Bell Atlantic Classic) and Bob Charles (’96

Hyatt Regency Maui Kaanapali Classic) have also pulled off the double.

Last year, Geiberger won the super seniors title on Saturday, then

took a two-stroke lead on Sunday in the overall tournament with a birdie

at 17.

But McCord and Allen Doyle both birdied 17 and 18, and Geiberger

missed his putt on 18, a par five and one of the easiest holes on the

golf course, and made bogey to force a playoff.

Geiberger, who was eliminated (along with Doyle) on the first playoff

while McCord went on to beat John Jacobs in five extra holes, went for it

on his approach shot at 18, instead of laying up, and it cost him dearly.

His ball flew to the right of the green and into the rough, leaving him

some work to make par.

Trying to hold on in a horse race, Geiberger hit a bad chip shot at

18, landing just off the fringe, where he needed to get up and down for

par to win the tournament.

But Geiberger’s two-putt set the stage for one of the most dramatic

(and hilarious) playoffs in senior tour history, beginning with the first

playoff hole when Jacobs chipped in a 90-foot eagle from the throat and

followed it with a twinkle toes dance celebration.

McCord then kept the playoff alive with an 18-foot eagle putt, and, as

the gallery erupted, motioned with a curled index finger for Jacobs to

come and fetch his ball from the jar and the crowd went crazy again.

Jacobs retrieved McCord’s ball and threw it into the crowd.

Geiberger, meanwhile, quietly went back into clubhouse, and, in the

end, was lost in the shuffle. No press conferences, no television

interviews.

But “Mr. 59” did earn $88,000 for his second-place tie and three-round

204 (69-66-69).

In fact, Geiberger enjoyed one of the finest seasons of any player

over 60 years of age on the senior tour in 1999, making 23 appearances

and winning $559,062 in official money (34th on the money list) -- his

highest total since 1993.

Geiberger made his mark in the Georgia-Pacific Super Seniors

competition in ’99 with three wins (including Toshiba) and a fifth-place

finish on the super seniors money list with $277,687.

The 1996 Senior PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year, Geiberger won 11

times on the PGA Tour -- his biggest triumph coming at the 1966 PGA

Championship. He earned his nickname when he posted the first sub-60

score in PGA Tour history, a 59, en route to the 1977 Danny

Thomas-Memphis Classic title.

But Geiberger, who played at USC, has also played well in Orange

County, including winning the 1956 Southern California Amateur

Championship at Santa Ana Country Club. Geiberger also captured the ’59

SCGA amateur title at Oakmont.

“Mr. 59” tied for second at the 1961 Orange County Open and finished

in the top 15 in the same event in 1960 and ‘62, when the event was

hosted by Mesa Verde Country Club. When it was the Haig Open at Mesa

Verde in ‘68, Geiberger again placed in the top 15.

In the inaugural Toshiba Senior Classic at Mesa Verde in ‘95,

Geiberger tied for eighth. In the 1996 event, he tied for 11th when it

was played at Newport Beach Country Club for the first time.

Geiberger is also a hero to another segment of the world for a victory

far greater than a PGA title or a 59 on his card.

At the end of his PGA Tour career, he had so much trouble with his

stomach and low sugar that a tournament doctor, John Perry, prescribed a

diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be carried around in his

golf bag. To this day he still endorses Skippy Peanut Butter.

But, then, Geiberger came down with a devastating illness and was

required to undergo an “ileostomy,” a surgical procedure in which the

colon is removed and life with a bag at your side is demanded. Many

people stay away from regular society, but Geiberger merely tried to

shoot more 59s and became the poster boy for a lot of folks who believed

you couldn’t do that in his condition.

Prior to the Ralphs Senior Classic at Wilshire in October 1995,

Geiberger told the Los Angeles Times: “I remember I had been encouraged

by the San Diego football player, Rolf Benirschke. He had the same

operation a year before and he was already back placekicking for the

Chargers when I got my operation. It was such a lift for me, I try to

talk about my experience, hoping it will tell others not to quit. It’s

important.”

Geiberger’s the type of guy who still smiles after missing four-foot

putts with titles on the line, a rarity anywhere. No one ever sees him

throw a club or kick sand in a bunker. He’ll never bite a caddie’s head

off for giving him the wrong yardage.

If you see Geiberger at the driving range or putting green at this

year’s Toshiba Classic, say hello. He’ll smile and say hello in return.