Palmer continues to be theme at Toshiba Classic
The outpouring of love and reverence for the late Arnold Palmer is definitely a theme at the 22nd annual Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.
Pro-Am play on Thursday featured Jay Haas, Craig Stadler, Mark O’Meara, Loren Roberts, Rocco Mediate, Hale Irwin and Billy Andrade. Those players were on a charter plane Tuesday night from Pennsylvania after attending Palmer’s memorial service in Latrobe.
Haas and Irwin showed emotion when describing Palmer’s tribute. They were both moved by what Palmer’s grandson, Sam Saunders, said.
Haas and Irwin both said they still get chills and goosebumps when they describe a jet that flew over during the service. The jet flew around the church a few times, Haas said, before going straight up into the sky and seemingly disappearing into the clouds.
“There was something that was telling a story there,” said Irwin, who won the Toshiba Classic in 1998 and 2002. “So I thought, boy, I get goosebumps right now thinking about it because it was just one of those things that’s kind of out of a fairy tale because he was a fairy tale kind of guy. We loved him.”
Both Haas and Irwin said the loss of Palmer is sad, but that the legendary golfer’s life should be celebrated.
Haas said he cherished the friendship he had with Palmer.
“He meant so much to the game of golf, which I’m a part of, and Wake Forest, which I’m a part of,” said Haas, who won the Toshiba in 2007. “He was just somebody that you could kid with and joke with. Just come up and give a hug to. He just is somebody that you would like to have as a friend no matter what profession he was in. He made you feel welcomed and comfortable around him as much as a king can make someone feel that way.
Langer withdraws
Bernhard Langer, who has won four events on the Champions Tour this year, withdrew from the Toshiba Classic because of family related issues.
He has never missed a Toshiba Classic since becoming eligible to play on the Champions Tour in 2008, when he won the tournament. He had T2 finishes in 2014 and 2012, and finished tied for ninth in 2009.
The Toshiba Classic will also be without fan favorite and Newport Beach resident Fred Couples, who is dealing with back pain. This is also Couples’ first time missing the Toshiba Classic since making his Champions Tour debut in 2010, when he won the tournament.
Couples must be in some serious pain because he appears to love the Toshiba Classic. He also won the Toshiba in 2014 and finished second in 2013. He finished tied for fifth in 2015 and 2011, and tied for eighth in 2012.
With those two big names out of the tournament much of the attention has turned to John Daly, whose distance can help him earn his first Champions Tour win as a “rookie,” on the short Newport Beach course.
Paul Goydos, the Long Beach State product who lives in Coto de Caza, is among a handful of players with local ties in the Toshiba Classic. Goydos will have plenty of family and friends at the tournament, where he finished fourth last year.
Goydos doesn’t believe the absence of Langer and Couples will increase the opportunity for contenders like him to win the Toshiba Classic.
“It’ll take somewhere between 15 and 18 under par [to win],” Goydos said. “Bernhard is probably one of those guys who would have done that but it doesn’t necessarily mean he was going to win…It’s tough out here and there’s plenty of good players.”
Goydos remembers Palmer
Goydos earned his first PGA Tour win in 1996 at Palmer’s tournament, the Bay Hill Invitational.
Goydos also reminisced about playing a practice round with Palmer in 1994 in Palmer’s final U.S. Open at Oakmont.
“Two years later, to win his event, coming out of nowhere quite frankly, was a pretty special thing,” Goydos said. “All wins are special. That one was a little extra special.”
The victory was big for Goydos, especially because he had the chance to sort of relive it every year because he attended the annual champions dinner at Bay Hill for 15 years.
Goydos held Palmer in high regard, basically saying there will never be another Arnold Palmer.
“Who’s going to be the next Jack Nicklaus, we’ve had that question,” Goydos said. “Johnny Miller was down that path. Tom Watson was down that path a little bit. Obviously Tiger Woods went down the path and now we’re actually going to: who’s going to be the next Tiger Woods? And guys are going down that path.
“Nobody ever says: who’s going to be the next Arnold Palmer? No one says that. Because I don’t know it’s going to happen that we’re going to have somebody with that kind of charisma and that kind of presence. It’s a presence. It’s an ability to walk into every single situation, whether it’s with board members of a company or at a local public golf course with guys who just walked off the golf course and feel comfortable in that situation. That’s just a rare thing he had that I don’t think will be duplicated in any sport. It’s an odd talent. The ability to talk to the heads of state and the guy mowing at the fairways and the guy who shoots 80 wearing shorts at Recreation Park and a guy who’s a member at Augusta National. He can interact with every type of person and look normal doing it. I can do all those things, but I look like an idiot 90% of the time. He can do it and look normal, which was an unbelievable skill.”
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Steve Virgen is the Sports Editor of the Daily Pilot.
Twitter: @SteveVirgen
