Champions Tour players showing their colors

Tens of thousands of fans will stroll through the grounds this

weekend for the Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club,

some, perhaps, to momentarily escape the sobering news of war.

After the first dry Thursday of Toshiba week since the last

millennium -- the previous three Toshiba Senior Classic Pro-Am rounds

on Thursday all had raindrops -- tournament officials are gearing up

for great weather and big crowds. But it is impossible not to see or

feel the patriotic spirit these days around the golf course with the

United States at war with Iraq.

Many members of the PGA Champions Tour served in the military. On

Thursday, red, white and blue was everyone, with American flags

flying proudly throughout the club and on golf carts. Some players,

such as John Jacobs, have Stars & Stripes club head covers, while

several are sporting a “Support Our Troops” panel on their golf bags,

produced by the Club Glove.

In the locker rooms and media center, televisions hooked up for

the tournament are dialed in to news coverage of the war.

“I hope our troops do their job and get home safe,” said Jacobs, a

veteran.

Some in the Toshiba camp believe this weekend’s crowd turnout

could be the largest in event history because of the combination of

expected sunny weather and the war.

The Toshiba Senior Classic, however, has no plans to change the

playing schedule, though additional security precautions have been

taken to ensure everyone’s safety. The Newport Beach Police

Department will increase patrols, and anyone entering the tournament

with bags will be checked. Some large bags will not be allowed on the

premises.

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If the weather really warms up this weekend, Champions Tour

players could be in for a bit of a surprise with various female

gallery members from Newport Beach, a stop on the tour that already

has a growing reputation among players for being a social event,

along with a golf tournament.

“The golf course itself makes it feel more social, because there

are more people around clubhouse and the holes are right next to each

other, instead of being so spread out,” said Champions Tour veteran

Jerry McGee. “Everything’s all right here, all in one little area.

You’ve got the 18th hole, the 15th hole, the first tee, the ninth

tee, the putting greens and driving range all in one area.

“And [fans] can walk this golf course. There are no houses between

holes. You walk from one to the other.

“And speaking of girls here, my first year here I went to Fashion

Island and saw all these older men with young blonds around their

arms.

“I called my wife that night and said I don’t remember our

daughter sending me a Father’s Day card. She said it’s only March.

And I told her it looked like it could’ve been Father’s Day from what

I saw.”

Al Geiberger, who only committed to this year’s Toshiba Classic

two days before the event, echoed McGee’s comments, saying “what’s

nice about this site is that it seems to be a social thing to do.

There’s not a lot of housing development here on the golf course, and

it’s easy access to get around. You can go across the course and walk

across at least six fairways.”