GOLF:

The Champions Tour has moved up the freeway to Valencia Country Club this week, and though I will be up there covering the AT&T; Champions Classic, I still can’t get last week’s Toshiba Classic out of my mind.

With the economy the way it is I was expecting an event that would be a shell of itself. It wouldn’t have been the fault of Toshiba or Executive Tournament Director, Jeff Purser or Hoag Hospital.

Times are bad and expectations — at least in my mind — were for a half empty gallery.

It couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The first sign that this year’s event was going to be just fine was at the Tuesday Champion’s Breakfast, which featured Lee Trevino. That event, one of the most popular of the week, was sold out.

The only blemish weather wise was Monday, but the rain wasn’t too bad and the pro-am had no interruptions.

The Wednesday and Thursday pro-ams were incredible. Like the breakfast, they were sold out.

When competition began on Friday the crowd was healthy. As I walked along the back nine there were swarms of people at different holes. It seemed to be as many if not more spectators than Friday’s past.

Then came the weekend and the amount of people seemed to double, especially on Sunday. The group following Mark O’Meara, Bernhard Langer and Eduardo Romero was one of the biggest galleries I’ve ever seen at Newport Beach Country Club.

This tournament has a history of memorable moments and even though Romero had the title in hand with four holes remaining, there were still some impressive feats during the week.

The first was Jim Colbert. Colbert, who turned 68 on Monday, bettered his age with an opening round 66. The fact that he is even playing golf on the Champions Tour, much less competing, is amazing and even more astounding when you think that Colbert won this event 13 years ago.

Then there was the ageless Gary Player. I always enjoy talking to this medical marvel. He is 73, looks like he is 53 and has the build of someone who is 43. Wherever he goes he delights crowds and Toshiba was no different. He signed autographs all while espousing the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise.

One scandal I did hear about was that one day Player was in the men’s locker room eating a plate of French fries. Say it isn’t so, Gary. It didn’t seem to affect his performance. He shot his age or better in two of the three rounds.

One of my favorite moments came late Sunday afternoon. As the leaders were out on the course just finishing up their rounds, Andy Bean was putting on the practice putting green and was conducting a little contest with a boy that couldn’t have been more than 5-years-old.

It was hard to tell who was having more fun, Bean or the young boy who will have a memory for a lifetime.

Yes, it is true, the tournament’s streak of $1 million in donations was snapped, but $850,000 is pretty impressive in this economy. It is about time we recognized that this event is not only a premier event in Newport Beach, but in Southern California.

JOHN REGER’S may be reached by e-mail at Nolimepublishing@aol.com.