Toshiba Classic details were stepped up a notch

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - For members of the Senior PGA Tour who travel the

country and make stops at several different venues, they’re aware of

what’s good and bad in the operation of a tournament.

There are transportation issues, food and beverage services, programs

during the week for the players’ families, and, of course, a golf course

on which to play and compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hospitality goes a long way in a golf tournament, and there are details

on the course few would pay much attention to, unless you were a golfer.

Following the rain-shortened, 36-hole Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport

Beach Country Club, senior tour player Jay Sigel complimented co-chairman

Jake Rohrer on the event’s noticeable improvements, such as an easier

path getting from the ninth green to the 10th tee.

In previous years, players would take the traditional route along the

cart path, going past the putting green, clubhouse and No. 1 tee box

before arriving at the 10th tee. During their trek, players sometimes

struggled avoiding foot traffic from fans and found distractions along

the way.

But, this year, tournament officials roped off an area that created a

beeline from the ninth green to the 10th tee, allowing players to make

the turn more swiftly and smoothly.

“It was very gratifying to me (Sunday) morning, when (Sigel) said he

really noticed the improvements,” said Rohrer, a longtime volunteer for

Hoag Hospital, the managing charity of the senior tour event.

“(Sigel) also said he noticed the increased corporate and community

support, and improved hospitality. He said the tournament gets better

each year, and said, ‘I’ll be back.’ Jay, of course, is also a

businessman and understands what’s going on.

“But it was nice of him to notice. (The players) are careful about

(tipping their cap to tournament officials). They want all the

tournaments to do well.”

Rohrer also mentioned that players were excited about the senior-tour

record $1-million donation to charity.

Howard Twitty missed finishing in a tie at six-under 136 with champion

Allen Doyle by less than an inch, when his 15-foot putt from the fringe

at 18 in the second round didn’t fall.

Had Twitty made his birdie attempt, there would have been a playoff

Sunday between him and Doyle for the Toshiba title on one of the

par-three holes.

Trailing Doyle by one stroke as he got to the 18th hole Saturday, Twitty

said it was in the back of his mind that he needed a birdie if the final

round was canceled (which it was).

“I hit a real good putt on 18,” Twitty said. “It had a good chance. When

you see it raining, you think you might still have a chance, but the

course was pretty wet (Sunday).”

Twitty’s putt burned the right edge of the cup as it slid past. One inch,

perhaps, cost him a shot at a playoff.

“It was a lot less than an inch,” said Twitty, who settled for a

second-place tie and earned $104,000, his highest finish in two years on

the senior tour.

Even though Arnold Palmer can’t play like he once did, the 70-year-old

legend was the highlight of Toshiba Senior Classic 2000 for this

reporter.

Following him around on the golf course, watching his famous squint and

enjoying a relaxed conversation with him Thursday in the quiet,

uninterrupted environment of the locker room lounge was unforgettable.

Doyle, who won his first senior tour event of 2000 and his fifth career

title (he won four last year as a rookie), made some interesting comments

Sunday about, among others, Lanny Wadkins, one of the circuit’s marquee

rookies.

Wadkins, who shot seven-over-par 78 in the first round to take himself

out of contention, finished tied for 59th at 148, after recovering in the

second round with a one-under 70.

There were 13 super seniors (60-and-over) who finished ahead of Wadkins,

a winner of 21 PGA Tour titles, including the 1977 PGA Championship.

“I don’t mind laying back and not being in the limelight,” Doyle said,

after he was declared the winner of the sixth annual Toshiba Classic,

which earned him $195,000.

“Other guys get asked why they’re not playing better after a round, and

guys get asked when they’re going to win again. But I don’t get asked

that much. They (press members) are not worried about me.

“They’ll ask Tom Kite when he’s going to win, and they’ll ask Tom Watson

(who won his second start on the senior tour last September) when he’s

going to win again, and, by about April, they’ll start asking Lanny

Wadkins why he’s playing so poorly.”

You might have noticed Dave Stockton with a new look last week ... on top

of his head. For years, you could almost identify Stockton with his

Founders Club cap, but the company went out of business and Stockton now

wears an MFS Mutual Fund cap.

Former Masters champion Tommy Aaron, 63, finished a respectable

three-over-par 145 (tied for 36th), or one shot better than another

big-name senior tour rookie, Tom Kite.

Earlier in the week, Aaron talked about his memorable 1973 Masters title.

“For me, it was a dream come true, growing up in Georgia (near Augusta

National),” he said. “First, it was a dream come true playing in the

Masters, then it was a dream come true winning it.”

Aaron said he occasionally reflects on his Masters title and some of the

shots he made in the final round that propelled him to an unlikely green

jacket (he won only one other time on the PGA Tour).

“I started the final round four shots behind and birdied the first three

holes, and that got me right back in it,” said Aaron, who shot a

final-round 68 to rally and edge J.C. Snead by one stroke for the

championship.

“In the last few holes, there was a lot of electricity in the air, like

I’ve never felt before. You feel pressure like you’ve never felt before.

It was incredible.”

Funniest guy on the senior tour, hands down, is Larry Ziegler, the most

entertaining player in the pro-ams, before, during and after tee off.