‘Gentle Ben’ hasn’t always been gentle

There have been some classic speakers in past years, like Gary

Player, Tom Watson and Gary McCord, but “Gentle Ben” could be the

best ever.

As officials gear up for the ninth annual Toshiba Senior Classic

March 17-23 at Newport Beach Country Club, there’s a must-see event

on the agenda -- and that’s two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw,

who will be this year’s keynote speaker at the Toshiba Senior Classic

Community Breakfast presented by Deloitte & Touche.

The breakfast, which features a top PGA Champions Tour player each

year, is Tuesday, March 18 at 7:30 a.m. at the Newport Beach Marriott

in Fashion Island. Tickets are $100 per person.

Crenshaw, who won 19 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1984 and

1995 Masters, will also compete in the Toshiba Senior Classic. In

1999, Crenshaw captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team to the greatest

comeback in event history. He is also one of golf’s noted historians.

“With Ben Crenshaw as our breakfast speaker, we continue our

tradition of inviting PGA superstars who have dramatically impacted

the modern golf era to our Community Breakfast,” said Hank Adler,

Toshiba Senior Classic Co-Chairman. “Between his Masters victories

and his remarkable leadership of the 1999 Ryder Cup team, Mr.

Crenshaw has endeared himself to golf fans everywhere. He has quite a

story to tell.”

Crenshaw made his debut on the PGA Champions Tour (formerly the

Senior PGA Tour) last year and plays Newport Beach regularly. He has

claimed Dana Point as a second home for more than 14 years, along

with his Austin, Texas, residence.

But an emotional Crenshaw has, at times, been anything but gentle

in his career. He’s been known to lose his cool missing putts. He’s

thrown clubs, broken shafts and, according to his calculations,

squandered at least seven majors. His ardent devotees, however, love

him, and all they’d prefer to remember is the image of Crenshaw

collapsing to his knees in tears after the last putt at the 1995

Masters -- not because he’d won, but because he was grieving the

death that week of his lifelong instructor, Harvey Penick.

After the ’95 Masters, Crenshaw struggled on the PGA Tour the next

six years, playing a limited schedule, but his new lease on life came

last year as a rookie on the senior circuit.

“It’s funny, as a golfer, at least in my case, you start out on

the tour and you’re totally one-dimensional,” Crenshaw said during

last year’s Toshiba Senior Classic. “You just start tournament golf

and you go as far and hard as you can to try to make adjustments and

experiment with things. There are trials and tribulations, there are

lost tournaments and occasional wins ... then between the age of 42

and 50, you just start wondering what you’re going to do with the

rest of your life.”

Crenshaw, who fought winning battles against Graves disease in the

mid-1980s, wrote a highly successful book called “A Feel for the

Game,” which reached No. 25 on the New York Times best-seller list in

2001. He has been appointed to the President’s Commission On White

House Fellowships by President George W. Bush.

This is one speaking engagement you won’t want to miss.

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Fans who purchase single-day tickets for the 2003 Toshiba Senior

Classic between now and tournament week will save $5 off

admission-gate prices.

Advance purchase “good-any-one-day” tickets for the event are once

again $15 -- a $5 discount off regular tournament-gate prices of $20.

Tickets are available at Roger Dunn Golf Shops in Orange County, or

by calling the tournament at (949) 660-1001.

Week-long grounds badges to the Toshiba are $50 and season

clubhouse badges (good for access to the tournament and the

clubhouse) are $100.

“We always have one of the biggest galleries on the Champions

Tour,” tournament director Jeff Purser said. “One of the reasons is

Orange County golf fans see what a value it is to pay $15 to watch

players like Hale Irwin, Tom Watson, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Tom Kite and

Fuzzy Zoeller.”

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The Toshiba Senior Classic’s Web site has a new design. Take a

look at www.toshibaseniorclassic.com.