Toshiba Senior Classic: Lessons in history

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - As the Toshiba Senior Classic flourishes in

prosperity in its sixth year, while having featured some of the most

exciting golf on the Senior PGA Tour, the event is a classic

rags-to-riches story.

From almost disintegrating in May 1997 to becoming the class of the

circuit under the management of Hoag Hospital, the Toshiba event has an

unparalleled history. Here’s a timeline of some momentous occasions:

June 16, 1994 - The first reports of a Senior PGA Tour event possibly

coming to Mesa Verde Country Club were published with National Car Rental

bidding to become the title sponsor and the Orange County Sports

Association serving as tournament operator.

In September of that year, with National pulling out because of an

impending sale, Bob Neely of International Sports and Event Marketing

came into the picture with his client, Toshiba, which had long desired to

sponsor a major sporting event.

Oct. 25, 1994 - OCSA announced that the inaugural Toshiba Senior

Classic would be played at Mesa Verde in March 1995. Don Andersen, OCSA

executive director, was named as tournament director of the $800,000

event.

“Truth be told, we’ve been working on (coming to Orange County) for

four years, but we couldn’t get all the ingredients together,” said Ric

Clarson, then the senior tour’s director of administration.

March 10, 1995 - After a mad scramble because of less than five months

to prepare for the county’s first senior tour event, the Toshiba Classic

becomes a reality with a pro-am on opening day.

March 19, 1995 - Only two days removed from deciding to retire at

season’s end because of a degenerative hip, George Archer shoots a

six-under 64 in the final round to win the Toshiba. “Golf is a crazy

game. You do things you’re not supposed to do,” said Archer, required to

take a daily dose of Indocin, an anti-inflammatory, before teeing off.

(Archer has since had hip replacement surgery.)

March 31, 1995 - Andersen abruptly resigns from OCSA, two weeks after

published reports said the tax-exempt charity was suffering from serious

financial debt. OCSA later declared bankruptcy with debts reportedly of

$1.5 million.

April 14, 1995 - Disputes between OCSA and Mesa Verde become public,

including “petty” financial issues, according to OCSA business manager

Bob Atwell.

Mesa Verde had a solid core of volunteers, but the club struggled with

sufficient parking. The future site of the Toshiba event is up in the

air.

June 30, 1995 - Neely, who orchestrated a three-year deal for his

client to become the title sponsor, becomes the tournament’s executive

director and hires Michael Carey as the tournament director.

July 17, 1995 - The Newport Beach Country Club is named as host site

of the Toshiba Classic and signs a two-year agreement with Neely.

March 17, 1996 - Jim Colbert enters the final round with a huge

five-stroke lead and wins the second Toshiba Classic by two shots. “I

can’t play much better,” said Colbert, who added that Newport Beach was

“the perfect seniors golf course.”

Hard-charging Bob Eastwood shoots a final-round 64 to tie a course

record, but still comes up short.

June 7, 1996 - Neely replaces Carey with Stephen Wagner as tournament

director “to make the event more progressive and more profitable for the

charities in the ensuing years.” It means the third tournament director

in three years.

March 10, 1997 - The third Toshiba Classic opens, but not all signs

are good: There are player no-shows for the Monday pro-am and the

much-ballyhooed Tuesday Shootout is canceled for the second year in a

row.

March 16, 1997 - Bob Murphy defeats Jay Sigel in a record nine-hole

playoff with an 80-foot birdie putt at 17. Murphy flips his putter in the

air, knocks off his straw hat and puts his hands on his head in

disbelief. It would be shown throughout the year on television replays.

“I was sort of getting dizzy, going around and around and around,”

Sigel quipped of the playoff, which was topped a year later when David

Graham beat Dave Stockton in a 10-hole playoff at the Royal Caribbean

Classic.

May 10, 1997 - In an unprecedented move, the Newport Beach Country

Club ownership group issues a statement to Neely and the senior tour,

terminating any further interaction with the operating charity. The club

cited payment defaults, including a disputed food and beverage invoice of

$25,000, as one of the reasons for its decision to sever ties with the

tournament operator.

June 24, 1997 - It’s Hoag Hospital to the rescue. Following an

acrimonious split between the country club and ISM, the Daily Pilot gets

word that volunteers of the venerable hospital’s fund-raising entity are

close to an agreement with the senior tour to take over as operator of

the event.

Volunteers of the 552 Club, which organized the Newport Classic Pro-Am

for Hoag, were sought after by Senior PGA Tour official Tim Crosby, who

had long respected their work. Jake Rohrer and Hank Adler are scheduled

to share the role of tournament chairman.

Aug. 28, 1997 - Hoag is formally announced as the new tournament

manager and agrees to three separate agreements with Toshiba, NBCC and

the Senior PGA Tour.

“You will see a significant change in the proceeds generated to

charity in this event,” Crosby said.

Sept. 19, 1997 - Lured from the tour’s event at Grand Rapids, Mich.,

Jeff Purser is hired as the Toshiba Classic’s new tournament director,

the fourth in four years.

March 15, 1998 - Hale Irwin provides more magic for the tournament,

shooting a course-record 62 in the final round to win the event. Irwin

gets a big assist from a now-famous bunker rake at 17, which stops his

ball from rolling into the water as he gets up and down to save par.

“It’s that local knowledge. You learn where the rakes are,” Irwin

cracked.

Capping a tremendous final day, Rohrer and Adler present a $600,000

check to Hoag Hospital on the 18th green.

May 27, 1998 - With the final accounting completed, tournament

officials announce a mind-boggling sum of $701,000 for charity.

Nov. 20, 1998 - Hoag Hospital is announced as the inaugural winner of

the Senior PGA Tour’s Charity of the Year. Rohrer and Adler are invited

to Golf World Village in Florida to accept the award. “This is an award

that can be shared equally by everyone who is involved in the Toshiba

Senior Classic,” Adler said. “It took hundreds of volunteers and sponsors

to make this tournament the success that it is.”

March 14, 1999 - In possibly the most thrilling senior tour event of

year, Gary McCord wins Toshiba Senior Classic V in a five-hole playoff,

turning it into a “made-for-television event” with hilarious antics

rarely seen in golf.

In the four-man playoff, Al Geiberger and Allen Doyle are eliminated

on the first hole, as John Jacobs chips in for eagle from 90 feet, then

dances a jig in celebration, does an imitation of Chi Chi Rodriguez’s

sword dance and tumbles backward onto the fairway.

McCord, though, sinks an 18-foot putt for eagle to extend the playoff,

and the two play off each other the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, over $800,000 is donated to Hoag, the largest second-year

gift in tour history. The event also owns the record for the biggest

first-year donation and the largest for the first two years combined

(over $1.5 million).

Feb. 9, 2000 - Arnold Palmer, perhaps the most famous player in golf

history, commits to play in Toshiba Senior Classic VI, marking the first

time the 70-year-old legend will play in the event.

Feb. 14, 2000 - Toshiba and Hoag Hospital agree on a new three-year

contract, while NBCC also reaches a three-year deal with Hoag, keeping

the event going through 2003.

“Toshiba is proud to be involved in the Toshiba Senior Classic, a

tournament that has captivated golf fans and profoundly impacted so many

vital charities in the process,” Toshiba executive Joe Formichelli said.

Added Purser: “Newport Beach Country Club is quite simply the home of

the Toshiba Senior Classic. It is the perfect course for a senior tour

event, and their entire staff is really committed to hosting a tournament

that stands out among the finest on the schedule.”

March 5, 2000 - and the winner is ...