Golf

Senior tour's viability relies on name game

Although competition never has been better, former PGA Tour stars are still what draw fans.

By BOB HARIG
Published February 20, 2005

There is nothing quite like the feeling Tom Watson still gets from a perfectly struck golf shot. That is why he still plays, why at age 55, he still competes. The search for such satisfaction is never-ending, if not elusive.

But Watson says that no matter how many great shots he hits at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, no matter how many tournaments he wins on the Champions Tour for 50-and-older golfers, it will do little to bolster his Hall of Fame career.

"It's not against the best," said Watson, winner of 39 PGA Tour titles and eight major championships.

That is of little concern to those who have watched the senior stars of golf the past 21/2 decades. The Champions Tour, which began as the Senior PGA Tour in 1980, is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Watson is among the big-name players who attract interest.

As the tour comes to Tampa Bay for the 18th straight year for the tournament at the TPC of Tampa Bay, that issue remains a sticking point as senior golf attempts to remain viable.

Good golf or big names?

The competition never has been better, as evidenced by the showing of senior players on the regular tour. Craig Stadler, the Champions Tour's reigning player of the year, has two top-15 finishes in PGA Tour events this year. Jay Haas, 51, is still a top-30 player in the world and played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in the fall. Hale Irwin, who turns 60 in June, won his 41st Champions Tour title last month. Stadler, 51, and Peter Jacobsen, 50, won PGA Tour events in 2003.

As great as those players are, the fact is many fans prefer to watch Arnold Palmer shoot his age (75), Chi Chi Rodriguez do his sword dance, Lee Trevino jabber with the gallery or Jack Nicklaus do anything.

"I remember the first tournament (in senior history), it was a showcase," Watson said. "A showcase of all the great stars. That's how it started. Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead prolonged that and Lee Trevino prolonged that. It was a great run. Stars have to be out here to be successful. If the stars play, it will last."

The tour has alternately tried to promote nostalgia or competition ... or both. The latter appears to be winning as the tour has banned the use of carts in tournament rounds and attempts to highlight the on-course accomplishments of its players.

But in some respects, the tour is losing its relevance. Other than the major championships, no events are on network television. The tour schedule decreased from 30 to 28 tournaments this year and lost its event in South Florida, leaving only Naples and Tampa Bay in the early season Florida swing.

There are awkward breaks in the schedule, including four weeks from mid March to mid April, and five major championships, with three played in a row.

"I don't think this tour gets the respect it needs," Champions Tour president Rick George said. "Our tour is very competitive, but I don't think we've pounded the table enough and let people know just how good these guys are. I think the next 25 years will be better than the first 25."

Well, maybe. It still remains a game of names.

"A lot of things made (the senior tour) happen, but first and foremost were the name players," Raymond Floyd said. "The good players coming in - that's what makes this tour go, along with all the other things that embellish it. If your Palmers and Nicklauses didn't come here and play, it wouldn't have gotten here."

The problem is, not all the stars embrace senior golf. Irwin and Trevino (29 victories) have made a second career out of the tour after stellar PGA Tour careers that saw them win three and six major championships, respectively.

But Watson, for example, typically plays only about a dozen Champions Tour events per year. Greg Norman is the biggest name to turn 50 this year but is expected to play only a handful of events. Haas has been reluctant to leave the regular tour. Nicklaus never has played more than nine senior events in a year.

A decade ago, Floyd was still competitive on the regular tour and alternated between the two. He was among the first to suggest that no matter his level of success on the Champions Tour, his legacy (four majors and 22 PGA Tour victories) would not be affected.

Watson agrees that senior greatness is unlikely to change a golfer's place in history.

"I don't think it should really reflect a whole lot," Watson said. "Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino have had great records out here. (Five-time British Open champion) Peter Thomson won nine times (in 1985). Bottom line, it's not against the best. It's against your peers, but not against the best. Just like steroids and baseball right now, should there be an asterisk? There's always that asterisk with the senior tour and how much it should be part of the record. I don't think it should apply that much."

That doesn't mean the competition isn't keen, which was a big concern to Palmer a quarter-century ago. He turned 50 in 1979 and viewed the then-Senior PGA Tour with skepticism in 1980. He was still competing on the regular tour, preparing himself for life outside the ropes, and wanted no part of a hand-waving, autograph-signing old-timers game.

In 1980, Palmer played once - the PGA Seniors Championship, an established tournament, one with plenty of history. And he won. It took until 1983 for Palmer to play in more than 10 senior events in a season.

"I was worried if people were going to take it lightly and if it was really a show and not a formal competition," Palmer said. "I expressed those concerns. And I think they diminished very quickly."

Palmer got his wish, but he offers proof that his presence can mean more than his play.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 00:54:14]