Langer-Haas Part II takes center stage

Jay Haas came oh so close a year ago at Newport Beach Country Club.

He could’ve became the first repeat winner of the Toshiba Classic. But he was edged in a seven-hole playoff. Instead it was Bernhard Langer riding off with the win and the Toshiba Classic trophy.

The victory proved to a bit of forshadowing and a bit of deja vu. Only this time it was Langer producing a grand year in 2008.

In 2007, Haas won the Toshiba Classic and went on to great success, becoming the Champions Tour Player of the Year. But later in 2008 at the Toshiba Classic, there was a changing of the guard and Langer took control of the tour, though just like in that seven-hole playoff, not by much.

This week, the two will meet again at Newport Beach Country Club, where it’s now Langer’s turn to try to become the first repeat winner in the 15th annual Toshiba Classic. The $1.7 million tournament, that has the winner gaining a $255,500 check, will begin Friday and continue through Sunday.

Langer — the Champions Tour’s reigning Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Arnold Palmer Award (money list champion) winner and Byron Nelson Award (low scoring average) winner — is joined in the race by a field representing 11 World Golf Hall of Famers, 20 PGA Tour major champions and 26 Champions Tour major champions.

Notable golfers competing with Langer for the 2009 Toshiba Classic crown include active golf legends Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson, the 2007 Classic champion and 2008 runner-up Haas, Player of the Year candidates Fred Funk and Loren Roberts, local-to-Orange County favorites Mark O’Meara and John Cook, as well as the great Hale Irwin, the Champions Tour’s winningest golfer and only two-time Toshiba Classic champ (1998 and 2002).

During a time of a down economy, it seems the players on the Champions Tour have been concentrating to increase their efforts to be fan friendly and competition friendly. That’s what Langer expressed recently in preparation for the Toshiba Classic.

The players on the Champions Tour are known to get along well and thrive in the laid-back atmosphere in places to play like Newport Beach.

However, Langer still let it be known that the friendships are not stronger than the competition.

“We’re more friendly off the course, but on the course, there’s maybe a bit more conversation as well,” Langer said. “But deep down, we’re competitors; that’s why we’re here.”Before the tournament at the end of the week there will be various activities at or near Newport Beach Country Club throughout the week.

Toshiba week begins with a pro-am Monday. Trevino will be the featured speaker at the “Breakfast with a Champion,” Tuesday morning at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa.

Afterward, students from the area, including Estancia High golfers Storm Hagen and Kelly Peters, will compete in the Shot from the Top, from the rooftop of the Marriott. That’s where they’ll try to shoot closest to the second green of the NBCC.

Classic pro-am will take over the action Wednesday and Thursday before making way for the three-round tournament that begins Friday.

Daily tickets are $25 at the gate. Season clubhouse badges providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament are $100.

All tickets, including corporate ticket packages, can be obtained by calling (949) 660-1001 or visiting www.toshibaclassic.com.