TOSHIBA CLASSIC NOTEBOOK:

NEWPORT BEACH — For a golfer known as the “Beer Man” on the Champions Tour, it made sense a reporter sent to cover Mark Johnson from his hometown Barstow newspaper wore jeans and tennis shoes at Newport Beach Country Club Sunday.

C.J. Daft, who has been writing for both the Barstow Dispatch and Victorville Daily Press, said Johnson is nothing like a man who used to drive a beer truck for 18 years in the High Desert.

“He has all the golf clichés,” Daft said during lunch in a media tent. “It’s hard to get much color out of him.”

Johnson didn’t open up much after it was all over.

He watched rather than played in the thrilling seven-hole playoff in which Bernhard Langer dethroned defending champion Jay Haas with a birdie on the seventh extra hole.

Johnson was in the hunt to win the Toshiba Classic for the second time as he entered Saturday’s final round three strokes behind the leader, Langer, a two-time Masters champion and World Golf Hall of Famer.

But Johnson couldn’t keep up. He shot a one-over-par 72 Sunday, leaving him with a 54-hole, three-day total of eight-under 205 and tied for 13th place with seven other golfers.

Back-to-back bogeys on the No. 9 and No. 10 holes hurt Johnson, who bogeyed three times, more than his first two days combined.

Only twice did Johnson birdie after making seven on the first day and four on the second, both days he was in second place. It was a tough finish for Johnson, who won the event in 2005, his first pro title, and was runner-up in 2006.

Don’t expect Johnson to sulk about his disappointing day over a beer with Daft.

“It’s not like we’re drinking buddies or anything,” Daft said.

FINALLY, IT’S OVER!

When Langer walked into the designated media room around 6 p.m., someone congratulated him for finally ending the playoff drama before it got dark.

The 50-year-old German smiled and said he wasn’t trying to prolong his ninth start on the Champions Tour.

The playoff between Langer and Haas appeared as if it was heading toward the tournament record of nine holes until Haas missed a three-foot putt on the seventh extra hole.

“[I] still should have made that putt,” said Haas, who before Sunday was 5-0 in playoff situations in his PGA/Champions Tour career. “We should still be going out there on the fifth time to No. 16, or however many times we played that hole.”

The tournament has had a nine-hole playoff twice, 1997 with Bob Murphy edging out Jay Sigel, and 2001 with Jose Maria Canizares beating Gil Morgan. The Champions Tour record is 10.

LOCALS CAN’T PICK UP PACE

Newport residents Paul Hahn and Greg Hopkins on Sunday played with Hall of Famer Lee Trevino, who used to appear in Pace Picante sauce commercials. But the locals, and even Trevino, couldn’t keep up the pace.

Hopkins and Trevino didn’t do so well on the final day, shooting a nine-over 80 and seven-over 78, respectively. They found themselves at the bottom of a familiar course with Hahn nearby. The only golfers finishing behind the three withdrew from the tournament.

Hahn, the Newport Beach Country Club professional since 1995, finished 75th (75-79- 72), ahead of Trevino (75- 74-78) and Hopkins (78-76-80).

In his fifth straight Toshiba Classic, Hahn played better in the third round than the first two rounds by recording three of his five birdies on the back nine. Hahn collected three overall in the first two days.

Hopkins, CEO of Cleveland Golf and a member at Mesa Verde Country Club, bogeyed six times and double bogeyed twice Sunday. Trevino didn’t keep pace in the bogeys category, just three, but he matched Hopkins in double bogeys.

NO LONGER CHIPPER

You can’t take the “Chip” out of Chip Beck, but you can take away his golf swing.

Beck withdrew from the final day due to elbow issues. Beck shot a two-under 69 on the first day and a six-over 77 on the second day.

Beck is expected to miss the Champions Tour’s next event, the AT&T; Champions Classic at Valencia Country Club March 14-16, because of the elbow.

Beck is best known for finishing runner-up at the Masters in 1993 and also shooting a 13-under 59 in the third round at the Las Vegas Invitational in 1991.

DON’T HATE THE PLAYER

Most golfers hit below their age.

But props to 72-year-old Gary Player for shooting an even-par 71, bettering his age for the ninth time during his Champions Tour career.

How did he celebrate? By boarding another plane. Player, considered the most-traveled athlete in history with more than 14 million air miles, flew to China for a three-day visit to a golf course he’s designing.

LEADERBOARD DROP

Out of the four golfers tied for second at nine-under and three strokes back from the leader going into Sunday, only Tim Simpson stayed in the top 10.

Jeff Sluman and Johnson fell to 13th place and Morris Hatalsky dropped to 21st.

Simpson finished tied for sixth with Curtis Strange, as they each had a three-day total of 10-under 203.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.