A breakfast with champions

Tony Dodero

The kickoff to a week’s worth of Toshiba tournament festivities began

with the customary early Tuesday morning breakfast of eggs, potatoes

and lots of coffee. The Toshiba Senior Classic Champions Breakfast at

the Newport Beach Marriott, to be precise.

The 400 or so guests at the hotel ballroom, who ran the gamut from

city officials to amateur golf aficionados, were treated to an

animated panel discussion featuring golfing legends Fuzzy Zoeller and

Chi Chi Rodriguez and last year’s Toshiba Classic victor, Rodger

Davis of Australia. That victory marked his career first on the

Champions Tour.

The trio is in town this week for the tournament that celebrates

its 10th year and has raised more than $5.7 million for Hoag Memorial

Hospital Presbyterian.

This year won’t be any different.

“We’re really here to raise money for Hoag Hospital,” said Hank

Adler, the co-chairman of the Senior Classic. “Our goal is to raise

$1 million.”

The $1.6-million event features 78 veteran players 50 years of age

or older from the PGA Champions Tour and is considered the biggest

senior tour fundraiser for charity.

“We’re glad to be here for 20, 30, 40 more years, with Toshiba at

the top,” said Rick George, president of the PGA Champions Tour.

Asked questions by moderator Mark Lye of the Golf Channel, the

trio of Zoeller, Rodriguez and Davis talked of changes to the sport

of golf, such as longer balls being hit and women trying to break

into the men’s tour.

“Players are better today and more talented,” Zoeller said when

asked how the game should change. “But the answer is not to build

bigger golf courses.”

Rodriguez, who has been on the senior tour since the mid-1980s,

agreed, saying that the older golfers need to quit making comparisons

to the younger, more physical and talented golfers of today, players

such as Tiger Woods.

“I keep telling [Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer] that if they

keep talking about the equipment and don’t give him the credit he

deserves, they are going to die as two very jealous old men,”

Rodriguez said.

As for making allowances to women who want to play golf on the

men’s tour, Davis and Zoeller didn’t think that was a good idea.

“We do live in America, the land of the free,” Zoeller said. “But

do I think it’s right? No.”

But Rodriguez wasn’t so sure and made mention of teenage golfing

phenomenon Michelle Wie, who he said could beat many of the male

pros.

“I’d love to see her win a tournament,” he said. “It would be good

for women’s rights and good for us all.”

And he doesn’t mind sharing the links with women.

“I would rather play with Annika Sorenstam than Walter Zembriski,”

he quipped. “I’m all for the women.”

Asked to compare the present-day champion Tiger Woods with Jack

Nicklaus in his prime, all three chose Woods as the better golfer.

Their advice for amateur golfers invited to take part in the

pro-am events that are part of Toshiba week was equally cutting.

“You better bring an extra dozen balls,” Rodriguez said.

Zoeller also didn’t mince words.

“You don’t have to wear your brand new clothes and your brand new

shoes and the brand new pants your wife bought you,” he said. “These

people who come out to watch are not coming out to watch you.”

Also part of the annual breakfast is the awarding of the Toshiba

Senior Classic Scholarship Fund, which has given out $113,000 since

its inception.

Twelve Orange County High School seniors each picked up a $2,000

grant and a Toshiba laptop computer.

From Newport-Mesa schools, the winners were Britta Pitti of

Estancia, Lilliana Moreno of Newport Harbor, Christine Bjelland of

Costa Mesa High and Florencia Krochik of Corona del Mar high schools.

Also honored were Nana Wilberforce, Ryan Stancil, Jay Sahgal,

Sureel Sheth, George Tran, Austin Ong, Altaf Saadi and Jessica

McMillin, all from Irvine or South County high schools.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. He may be reached at (949) 574-4258

or by e-mail to tony.dodero@latimes.com.