It’s all about the personalities

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- It’s not exactly the kind of game where you might

expect to see the Mexican wave, skimpily clad dancing girls or fans with

painted faces.

Rather, the fans and golf aficionados who filled up the dark green

bleachers at the Toshiba Senior Classic Friday afternoon wore semiformal

to casual clothes, tennis shoes and baseball caps.

They spoke in soft murmurs and let out the occasional cheer when they

saw a player make a good shot. Or they consoled them with a sympathetic

“aw” as the ball back bounced and rolled off into the rough.

But then, something happened.

Mostly it had to do with the name “Chi Chi” that was heard being

whispered in the galleries.

“I think he’s next,” said Nancy Le Roy, who was enjoying the

tournament with her husband, Allen.

The “he” that she and other spectators were waiting to see in action

was Chi Chi Rodriguez, the golfer from Puerto Rico, known for his

customary Zorro-like slash of his club after a good shot.

“Swish, swish and tuck,” Le Roy, said waving her arms as if to slash

out a “Z” in the air and imitated the way the legendary winsome warrior

would put his sword back in his scabbard after a victorious rampage.

Le Roy looked impatiently at the time table chart that she held in her

hands to see when her favorite player would hit the green.

“You see a lot of people playing and they’re pros,” she said. “A lot

of people say golf is a real slow game to watch. But when Tiger Woods

plays, everybody is watching. It’s about personalities.”

While swinging technique and stance may enthuse hard-core golfers,

it’s the colorful personalities that attract people in the gallery, she

says.

Sure enough, when Chi Chi walked up to make his shot Le Roy, like

almost everybody else in the gallery watched in eager anticipation.

Was he going to do his Zorro act?

There was tense silence as the player took his stance and got ready to

swing his club.

“If he sinks this one, he’s going to do it,” Le Roy whispered.

She was right. The otherwise quiet gallery stopped short of a Mexican

wave and let out loud, unrestrained cheers as Chi Chi pointed his

glimmering club in all four directions and wrapped it up with the

legendary “slash and tuck.”

Le Roy stood up and let out a whoop of joy as did her husband who was

wearing a hat autographed by Chi Chi.

“Oh, we’re not fans,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We’re just

avid admirers.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .

For more Toshiba Senior Classic coverage, see Sports, Page B1