Golf: There’s a new sheriff on the course

Richard Dunn

Chalk up the damage created on hole No. 6 to the inclement weather

during, coincidentally, the sixth annual Toshiba Senior Classic.

Normally a difficult hole, but certainly not the toughest historically,

No. 6 ranked first in severity last week in the Senior PGA Tour stop at

Newport Beach Country Club.

The par-four, 418-yard dogleg left, with an intimidating tree line on the

left side of the fairway, played harder than usual because of swirling

winds in the rain-shortened, 36-hole event.

Hole No. 5, which usually plays tough and is the beginning of a

challenging, six-hole stretch, ranked second this year in terms of

difficulty.

“Everybody was commenting on how long the golf course played, and that’s

because when you hit the ball on the fairway, it didn’t move very far,”

club president Jerry Anderson said. “You just didn’t get a lot of roll,

and holes five and six played even longer because of the swirling winds

(generated by the storm) and prevailing winds off the ocean, and there

was no roll in the fairways.”

A fairway bunker was added to hole No. 6 this year about 240 yards off

the tee, and “it came into play for a number of players who strayed a

little to the right,” Anderson said.

“I actually think now, since we shortened No. 5 a few years ago (by 25

yards), that No. 6 may be the most difficult hole on that front-side

stretch, and it may prove out to be that way again, unless you catch (the

fairway) dry and get a roll.”

No. 6, only the fifth-toughest hole last year, normally plays upwind, but

the storm played havoc on tee shots and approaches to the green.

Nos. 5 and 6 yielded only nine birdies each, the lowest in the event. No.

6 also allowed the fewest pars (85).

Not surprisingly, no eagle has ever been carded on the sixth hole in five

years at Newport Beach.

The amazing turnaround of the Toshiba Senior Classic, from nearly

crumbling in May 1997 to becoming the class of the senior tour,

establishing a tour-donation record $1 million this year, is worth a

book.

Best shot witnessed during the Toshiba Classic was Roy Vucinich’s

approach from the right rough at 18 in the first round, when his ball was

stuck a few yards behind a pine tree with an unusually thick trunk.

A branch of the pine tree, leaning toward the fairway, was low to the

ground and no doubt impeding Vucinich’s sight to the hole.

But Vucinich, a former club pro at Allegheny Country Club near

Pittsburgh, cut a four-iron out of trouble and left it 71 yards to the

hole. From there, Vucinich hit a lob wedge 30 feet past the pin on the

green, then sank a dramatic birdie putt to tie for the lead.

Before pulling out the four-iron, Vucinich warned the fans in the gallery

to “move back and be careful in case the ball bounces off this tree.”

Vucinich, however, kept it low and through the narrow opening, getting it

on the fairway and setting up his birdie. It’s what they call on

television a “professional shot.”

Vucinich was one of the more interesting Toshiba newcomers in 2000, and

one of few on the senior tour who actually like the poa annua greens at

Newport Beach.

“These greens are beautiful,” Vucinich said. “That poa annua is good

stuff. That’s the kind of grass we have in Pittsburgh.”

Vucinich finished eighth at the 1999 Senior PGA Tour National Qualifying

Tournament to earn his exempt status this year.

Highest single-round score in the Toshiba Classic was an 81, turned in by

two players -- Jay Sigel and Dave Hill, both in the first round. Jimmy

Powell shot 80 in the first round.

Pro-Am crash update: The amateur who was injured last week in the Toshiba

Classic Pro-Am apparently was not the one driving the golf cart at the

time of the accident.

Two amateurs share a cart during pro-am rounds, and, during the Wednesday

round, the driver tried to go under a rope, resulting in a serious injury

to an amateur, also a Toshiba employee.

The amateur was taken to Hoag Hospital after suffering head wounds. As

the cart reportedly tried to go under the tough, nylon rope, it stretched

the rope and caused a stake to snap out of the ground and hit the amateur

in the head.

The amateur was knocked unconscious at the 12th hole, according to

eyewitnesses, which included a volunteer marshal, and blood spilled onto

the front of the golf cart.

The inaugural Mazda Open Celebrity Golf Tournament will be held March 20

at Mesa Verde Country Club to raise funds to construct a new Arts

Pavilion at Orange Coast College.

Celebrity golfers are expected to include former NFL stars Dick Butkus

and Eric Dickerson, former Laker Kurt Rambis and Chris Myers of Fox

Sports News. Details: (949) 727-6304.

The inaugural Tommy Bahama Pacific Coast Classic, a golf tournament to

benefit the Center For Community Solutions, is scheduled for Monday at

Newport Beach with an appearance by 1999 Toshiba champion Gary McCord,

who is sponsored by Tommy Bahama.

The cost is $175 per player, which includes golf, cart, lunch on the

course, Tommy Bahama Aruba Zip and hat, and a dinner with open bar at

Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Cafe. Details: (949) 760-8686.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.