Toshiba Senior Classic: Golf -- The universal language

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - As the first player on the tee box Friday and the

only golfer in his group with the English language as his primary form of

communication, play was sometimes lonely for Frank Conner in the opening

round of the Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.

Conner, though, was just glad to be there. After all, he started the week

as the second alternate, and eventually got into the field because

another player, Stewart Ginn of Malaysia, missed his tee time in the

Thursday pro-am.

“It was unfortunate for (Ginn), but fortunate for me,” said Conner, after

shooting a two-over-par 73 in the first round.

Conner, a veteran of the Toshiba Classic who was in town for his standby

status as an alternate, said it was the first time in his professional

golf career that he has “gotten in that way.”

All players on the Senior PGA Tour are required to play in their pro-am

rounds, or they’re disqualified.

“Stewart didn’t realize he was in the Thursday pro-am, and he just slept

in,” Conner said. “He played in the Wednesday pro-am, but didn’t realize

he was in both pro-ams. When he didn’t show up, I was the first

alternate. It happens very infrequently.”

Earlier in the week, Charles Coody dropped from the tournament and the

original first alternate, David Lundstrom, took his spot, pushing Conner

up the ladder.

“I was here waiting,” said Conner, who lives in San Antonio, Texas. “If I

hadn’t been here, I would’ve been eliminated, also.”

With clubs ready, Conner teed it up in the first group Friday. Jose Maria

Canizares of Spain was the first player to tee off, followed by Conner,

then Kikuo Arai of Japan.

“Arai speaks no English and Jose speaks very little English, so I didn’t

have anybody to talk to,” Conner said with a laugh. “But it was fun to

play with them. Jose’s a nice guy and I’ve played with him a lot. I’ve

played with him so much, in fact, that I’m starting to understand

Spanish.

“We were out there speaking Japanese, Spanish and Texan.”

Conner, playing in his fifth Toshiba Senior Classic, is a veteran of the

Newport Beach course, having played here in the old Crosby Southern

Pro-Am (later the Newport Classic Pro-Am) five times (1978, ‘81, ‘88, ’89

and ‘93).

“There were some people out here to watch us tee off (at 8 a.m.), but not

too many,” Conner said. “It was so cold (Friday) morning, I’m surprised

anybody was out here.”

Conner, though, enjoyed the round, because as the first group off, there

are no previous marks on the greens or divots in the fairways.

“The golf course was in perfect condition,” said Conner, one of only two

men in history to have played in the U.S. Open in both golf and tennis

(the late Ellsworth Vines was the other).

“The golf course was in excellent shape and the greens were perfect. The

fairways were probably in the best condition I’ve ever seen at this golf

course, and I’ve been coming here since the Little Crosby. I enjoyed the

golf course, though the weather was not exactly what it normally is.

“We can set our own pace when teeing off first, and I like that. The

greens were just beautiful, so it wasn’t the golf course that was a

problem today. It was just me.”

In 1999, the Ironman Conner played in more than 30 tournaments for the

fourth straight year. He struggled with his game early in the year, but

was on the leaderboard for the final three days of the Las Vegas Senior

Classic and tied for fourth at The Players’ Championship of Summerlin.

Conner became fully exempt on the Senior PGA Tour in 1995, after his

fourth-place finish at the National Qualifying Tournament. He played on

the Nike Tour intermittently between 1990 and ’95.

Born in Vienna, Austria, Conner still loves to play tennis and considers

Rod Laver as one of his heroes, along with Arnold Palmer.