A Fuzzy morning for golfers

Tony Dodero

NEWPORT CENTER -- The first tee of the Toshiba Senior Classic was

barely on the mind of the groggy morning bunch at the Newport Marriott on

Tuesday morning.

It was more like the first coffee, as golfers and businesspeople

rubbed elbows for the annual Toshiba Community Breakfast, traditionally

one of the kickoff ceremonies for the senior tourney that will hold court

at the Newport Beach Country Club through Sunday.

Featured at the breakfast was professional golfing legend Fuzzy

Zoeller, who at the age of 50 is a rookie on the senior tour.

As the crowd in the room noshed on scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes

and poppy seed muffins and sipped on glasses of thick, fresh-squeezed

orange juice, Zoeller employed his best jokes and gregarious wit for his

rapt audience.

When asked about his favorite courses, golf not breakfast, he politely

dished out a compliment to the locals, pointing out that the Newport

Beach Country Club was a pretty good golfing venue and a “very enjoyable

course to play.”

Still, he always has a zinger or two, calling Pebble Beach,

“overrated.”

“Golf courses are like women, er, people,” he said. “They all have

different personalities.”

Zoeller, of course, is well-known for his not-so-politically correct

statements, especially the one he made after Tiger Woods won the Masters

at Augusta.

Customarily, the winner of the Masters gets to choose the dinner for

the following year’s tournament.

With Woods being the winner, Zoeller made reference to a stereotypical

African American meal that left many offended.

“I’m still learning from that mistake,” he said at breakfast Tuesday.

Zoeller was grilled on everything from golfing to youth athletics to

barbecue sauce from a panel that consisted of publishers Steve Churm of

OC Metro and Tom Johnson from the Daily Pilot.

A winner of the Masters himself, Zoeller spoke of the “magic” of

donning that green jacket that is given out to those who win. He

cautioned students not to leave early for the allure of professional

sports -- golf or otherwise -- and shared some secrets about how to stay

married for 26 years.

“I think I have a great life,” he said. “I never see my

mother-in-law.”

In addition to Zoeller and the good food, the crowd at the Marriott

was treated to a few figures about the Toshiba Classic.

During the last four years, the tourney has raised $3.7 million for

charitable causes, mainly Hoag Hospital, and is on track this year to

make close to another million.

In fact, the senior classic is the top charitable producer on the

senior tour, said Chairman Hank Adler, of Deloitte and Touche.

Also, the crowd learned of the 2002 Toshiba Senior Classic Scholarship

recipients, four of whom are from local Newport-Mesa high schools.

As for Zoeller, he was noncommittal on just who he thought would win

this year’s tourney.

“You just never know who’s going to get hot,” he said.

FYI BOX

2002 Toshiba Senior Classic Scholarship recipients

Brian Jorgensen

Mission Viejo High

Parker Wells

Trabuco High

Alyssa VanEvery

El Toro High

Meridith Lunn

Laguna Hills High

Melissa Blair

Corona del Mar High

Socrates Cruz

Costa Mesa High

Hani Charezaie

Estancia High

Caroline “Carly” Geehr

Newport Harbor High

Javad Golji

University High

Sarah Nguyen

Irvine High

Sawaka Sonoyama

Woodbridge High

Ramzi Fawaz

Northwood High

Jennifer L. Paul

Huntington Beach High

Kevin Jhangiani

Edison High School