Golf: Waiting for his time to come

Richard Dunn

Last year, Toshiba Senior Classic champion Jose Maria Canizares

wasn’t known for his miracle shot, fancy footwork or colorful quotes.

But he was resilient.

After having three putts lip out in an eventual nine-hole playoff

against Gil Morgan, Canizares won on the 63rd hole, draining a 24-foot

birdie putt on a difficult left-to-right break to end the marathon

playoff at the par-3 No. 17, Newport Beach Country Club’s signature hole.

No. 17 is also where Bob Murphy capped the event’s 1997 nine-hole

playoff, then a Senior PGA Tour record, with an 80-foot birdie putt.

Canizares, a Spaniard who requires an interpreter for interviews, said

last week at a conference call that “it’s very hard” to maintain your

focus and composure after missing so many close putts in a nail-biting

playoff, especially in cold, windy conditions.

“You’re not getting lucky and so you start to doubt (the)

possibilities. But the most important thing is to be very positive in the

moment and to wait for that lucky chance to get it in,” said Canizares,

who won his first event on the Senior Tour and first title anywhere since

1992 on the European Tour.

Canizares, who had potential tournament-winning putts lip out on the

first, second and fourth playoff holes, started last year’s final round

five strokes behind leader Terry Mauney and promptly carded a 4-under 67

to earn his way into a playoff with Morgan at 11-under.

“(In the playoff), it was just a matter of waiting to see who was

going to make a birdie, (or) who was going to fail,” Canizares said. “And

there was a lot of pressure, but it was very interesting. It was the

longest playoff, but it was great for me.”

Canizares, who said the golf course at Newport Beach is “very similar

to the courses in Europe,” was crowned the seventh different Toshiba

champion in seven years. He’ll return to Newport Beach for the eighth

annual Toshiba Classic March 4-10.

Last year was the third playoff for the Toshiba Classic in five years.

In 1997, Murphy defeated Jay Sigel in nine extra holes, at the time a

tour record, with a putt at 17 that chugged its way up the difficult,

two-tiered green.

In 1999, first-time PGA winner Gary McCord, the wisecracking CBS golf

commentator, beat John Jacobs on the fifth playoff hole. Al Geiberger and

Allen Doyle were eliminated on the first hole of the four-man playoff.

That year, the playoff was so entertaining with McCord and Jacobs

making eagles on the first playoff hole, and following it up with

hilarious antics, that many felt the Toshiba Classic jump-started the

entire Senior Tour in ’99.

For good measure, the 2000 Super Seniors for players 60-and-over went

into a playoff, with George Archer beating Lee Trevino in two extra

holes.

The Georgia Pacific Super Seniors will not compete this year at

Newport Beach, Toshiba Classic tournament director Jeff Purser said.

From Fuzzy Zoeller, a Senior Tour rookie who will make his Toshiba

debut next month: “The greatest thing about golf is there’s no end to it

unless you’re dead. You just go from here to the Senior Tour.”

Looking forward to seeing you in 2003: R.W. Eaks, who won back-to-back

Newport Classic Pro-Am titles at Newport Beach Country Club in the 1990s,

qualified for the Senior PGA Tour through the tour’s National Qualifying

Tournament, but won’t turn 50 until May 22 and will not be eligible to

play in this year’s Toshiba Classic.

Eric Miller of Newport Beach and Zach Rabinovich of Newport Coast

played in the Junior Amateur Golf Scholars Tour event Jan. 20-21 at

Shandin Hills Golf Club in San Bernardino.

Miller, a seventh grader, shot 102-101--203 to finish first in his

class and 12th overall. Rabinovich withdrew after the first round.

The JAGS Tour, a year-round tour for boys and girls 13-18, specializes

in 36-hole tournaments with no cuts for players who maintain a ‘B’

average in school. Details: (562) 493-8416 or (714) 952-3316.

Newport Beach Country Club assistant pro Bruce Hooper shot 39-36--75

Monday and finished tied for 23rd in the Southern California PGA Nissan

Open qualifier at Hacienda Golf Club, where two spots were awarded into

PGA Tour’s Nissan Open Feb. 14-17 at Riviera Country Club.

The seventh annual California Women’s Championship, sponsored by six

California Women’s Golf Associations, including those from private and

public golf courses, will be July 15-17 at the extremely tough Eisenhower

Course at Industry Hills Golf Club.

There is no age requirement and the lowest 100 handicap indexes will

make up the amateur field. The maximum USGA index allowed is 10.4.

Previous CWC events have been held at Torrey Pines, Poppy Hills, Glen

Annie, Del Mar and The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe.

The top players in the event will represent California in the USGA

Team Championship. Details: (408) 238-8092.