Organizers Have Big Things in Store for Pro-Am Event

The people behind the Taco Bell Newport Classic Pro-Am golf tournament have talked about taking the tournament up a level.

The idea of trying to become a stop on the Nike Tour has been bounced around a few board rooms.

Because of the proliferation of sports cable channels, organizers also have considered seeking a television contract.

Given the scenery at and around the Newport Beach Country Club and the field of mostly Nike Tour players, the tournament, which is Friday and Saturday, seems like a natural draw for television.

But discussions, including the issue of charging admission, end at the same bottom line. All such moves would end up costing money and detracting from the goal of the tournament--to raise money for Hoag Hospital.

Last year the 552 Club, which is Hoag’s largest support group and the one that runs the tournament, donated $306,000 to the hospital.

To help put that impressive figure in perspective, consider that the Toshiba Senior Classic played on the same course was able to donate only $45,000 to its three charities.

The Taco Bell tournament raises money from the entry of 74 amateur players who pay about $5,000 to play in the two-day event and from the fund-raiser gala that is held in conjunction with the tournament. This year it is a circus-themed event conducted Friday night in one of the hangers at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin.

“This is a magnificent local event,” said Rudy Pollak, who is in charge of the gala. “We’re having too much fun just like it is. Going on television and things like that would just take dollars away from the hospital.”

Despite all this, the tournament has grown greatly in 23 years, especially in the last five since Taco Bell has become the title sponsor.

The purse has increased steadily each year. This year it is $100,000, with the winner getting $20,000.

R.W. Eaks, who has won the last two times, returns looking for his third in a row. Eaks, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., earned $16,000 for his victory last year and $15,000 in 1994.

The tournament, which will attract at least four members of the LPGA, is very popular with LPGA touring professional Cathy Mockett.

Mockett, a 1986 graduate of Newport Harbor High, said several players asked her about the event last year when she was on tour.

“I have seen this grow through the years and it has developed into a fine tournament,” she said.

The tournament is also a special experience for the spectators.

Admission is free and there are no ropes to keep people out of the fairways. But the presence of amateur players and the likelihood of shots going all over the place is enough to keep people from getting in the way of play.

Admission would be another way to raise money, but tournament chairman Hank Adler explained something that organizers of the Toshiba tournament learned the hard way last year when an estimated 1,000 people slipped in without paying.

Newport Beach Country Club is lined by homes, a hotel and streets, making it hard to prevent people from just walking in.

“This is a very difficult place to secure,” Adler said. “There is no money to be made there. We wish 10,000 people would show up. We would love that.”

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Jim Colbert, winner of last year’s Toshiba senior event at Newport Beach Country Club was recently in town for a luncheon.

Colbert, a two-time player of the year who won five tournaments and was second five times last year, used the opportunity to speak about a series of subjects starting with the status and popularity of the tour.

“Today,” he said, “the Senior PGA Tour is very, very healthy . . . I’m here to tell you that, and our audience is young. It’s 100% the same as the PGA Tour. I’m on television 100 days a year. That’s a lot of exposure. Corporations love that.”

Colbert on aging: “We have proven way beyond a doubt that 50 isn’t old. The best part of your life can come after 50 as long as you stay active.”

Colbert on why he plays as often as he does, including in more than 30 tournaments last year: “What would you rather do than play tournament golf for one million dollars a week? It’s not a show. It’s a competition. I don’t know of anything more competitive than what we do between the ropes Friday through Sunday. I just want to play tournament golf. It doesn’t wear on me.”

Colbert will be back at Newport Beach Country Club to defend his title March 10-16.

Notes

The Nike Tour will make its annual Southern California appearance next month at the Inland Empire Open. The four-day tournament, Feb. 20-23 at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club, will be the Nike Tour’s only stop in California this year. . . . Sue Ewart of Seal Beach has been reelected to the U.S. Golf Assn. Women’s Committee, which conducts the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Open championships. . . . Bea Russell of the San Clemente Women’s Golf Club was recently installed as president of the Women’s Public Links Golf Assn. of Southern California. . . . The Festival of Whales Golf Classic, a pro-am featuring Golden State Tour professionals, will be held March 10 at Monarch Beach Golf Links. The event will benefit the Orange County Marine Institute. . . . Dusty Schmidt, a sophomore at Sunny Hills High, won the 1996/SCPGA Junior Tournament of Champions last month at Newport Beach Country Club. Schmidt shot one-under-par 70. Lisa Chen of Cerritos won the girls’ championship.

The Orange County Golf Notebook runs monthly. Readers are encouraged to make suggestions. Call (714) 966-5904, fax (714) 966-5663 or e-mail Martin.B[email protected]