NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — It’s a time warp.
No matter where you turn, the golf is of another era and oddly doesn’t look a whole lot different, albeit possibly with a few more gray hairs and a couple of more pounds.
The players on the Champions Tour cut similar swaths as they did when they toured the regular circuit.
Tom Watson still has the same, quick back-and-through stroke and purposeful and equally quick gait to his ball. Lanny Wadkins has yet to see a round of golf that he doesn’t want to hustle through. Fred Funk still doesn’t hit it past anybody. Lee Trevino hits a cut to the middle of the green and makes it dance toward the pin.
Mike Scarr
But the energy is there. The players seem to smile a bit more, enjoy each other’s company a bit more and linger on the teebox conversation a tad longer. Competitive as always, but understanding it’s a game.
Their livelihoods are largely set. Their titles are mostly won, at least those that garner the larger headlines, but the enthusiasm behind the ropes is no less profound and the roar given a putt or a well-struck approach is no less audible.
Even the gallery senses the greater ease, the calmer atmosphere.
For one, it skews older.
The Champions Tour is reserved exclusively for the 50 and older players and while that prerequisite doesn’t extend to those buying the tickets and walking the course, it’s easy to see the gallery is well acquainted with the senior stars.
This is their generation, largely, and the thrill is readily apparent among those in attendance who are getting the chance to see the stars of another time play some golf.
And it’s not a charity tour.
It’s not simply a way to sell tickets as an aging rock group might by pulling in loyal fans and then meandering through a playlist that doesn’t quite measure up to the one that people remember.
There is good competitive golf being played so much that senior rookies hold a hint of surprise in their voices that is followed quickly by recognition of the obvious.
They were good players before and they’re good players now, albeit older and with a shorter shelf life.
It’s not unusual for the “young” players on the Champions Tour to step in and perform.
That was on display Friday at the Toshiba Classic as Bob Tway, who joined the circuit last year, shot a 65 to share the first round lead with Mark Wiebe and Chien Soon Lu. A stroke back is Fred Couples, just four events into his next career.
Couples has quickly become the player to beat on the Champions Tour with a victory and a second-place finish to his credit in his two full-field events.
His playing partners Friday also underscored the aptly named tour.
Couples played his 18 at Newport Beach Country Club with Watson and Mark O’Meara. It was difficult to tell which player held the larger share of allegiance in the largest gallery on the golf course, but their credentials spoke volumes.
There were a total of 11 majors titles in the group and 70 PGA Tour victories. Watson’s reception was particularly warm with recognition of his near-miss at last summer’s British Open.
It would have been his sixth.
His first round was largely uneventful until birdies at 15 and 18 dropped him into red figures, which sent his high approval ratings soaring.
The PGA Tour, while providing higher stakes and longer drives to go with more money and greater pressure, certainly adds a pitched degree of competition, but also tends to blend together. So many players are trying to establish their careers and have yet to make a name.
For the seniors, most of the names are familiar and many are comforting. Fans excitedly point and follow a player they once admired and whose game they had tried to emulate.
It’s golf and played by a cast of characters that makes one wonder if time has indeed been spun backward.
Mike Scarr is the editor of Golflink.com. He can be reached at golflinkeditor@demandmedia.com.
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With the growing knowledge of nutrition and exercise, I think we will see more and more of the “older set” competing with the young bucks on the PGA Tour. These guy have nutritionists to help them with their diet and physical therapists to help them with their flexibility. Love to see Freddy win another major!