Golf : T.C. Chen Returns to Defend His Riviera Title

The world did not end for T.C. Chen, that final day of the 1985 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills, Mich., when he quadruple-bogeyed the fifth hole, then followed that disaster with three consecutive bogeys.

When Chen’s father died of cancer on Christmas Day in Taiwan, T.C. was hit even harder. But Chen could be happy that at least his dad had lived to see him in triumph, too.

Chen won the Los Angeles Open last year in a one-hole playoff with Ben Crenshaw and will be back to defend his title Feb. 25-28 at the Riviera Country Club. Chen’s father, who was ill for a long time, watched the younger Chen’s first PGA Tour victory on a tape-delay telecast shown in Taiwan.

Chen, who lives in Walnut with his wife, her sister and her sister’s family, said he is dedicating this year on the tour to his father. According to Chinese custom, the elder Chen won’t be buried until Feb. 6, after a long period of mourning, and Chen is returning to Taiwan for the services.

Chen said his golf game last year was affected by his father’s illness. Even so, he won $203,000, $108,000 of that in the L.A. Open. Chen forced the playoff by sinking a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 18, right after Crenshaw’s 16-foot birdie had given him the lead. Chen won with a par on the first playoff hole.

So if Chen lost some confidence at the 1985 Open, his performance last year at Riviera might have restored it.

Not too many knew Chen before the 1985 Open. Then he earned quick recognition by putting together rounds of 65-69-69 for seven under par. But on the fifth hole of the final day, he took the quadruple-bogey 8. At one point, he double hit the ball, trying to pitch from deep rough. That earned T.C. the nickname of Two Chip. He finished with a 77 and lost by a stroke to Andy North.

These days, though, Chen is regarded as an extremely accurate golfer, which makes him a strong threat on narrow fairways, such as those at Riviera.

“Only Arnold Palmer has won the L.A. Open two years in a row,� Chen said. “I guess that makes it pretty tough for me. But I will try.�

Chen said he is not sensitive to questions about his collapse at the U.S. Open.

“Most people never stand a chance of winning the U. S. Open,� he said. “But I really had a good chance to win that tournament. It was still a very good experience for me. I learned. At least I know how to lose it. It helped me win in L.A. When I led in L.A. I knew how to handle it.�

Mac O’Grady did not win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last weekend. But he really wants to win it next year because it would give him a forum to ask something of Hope and former President Ford.

O’Grady said he told one of his amateur partners, fashion designer Oleg Cassini, of his desire to win the Hope tournament.

“Not for the money, not for the glory,� O’Grady said. “I would love to be in a position next year to take a microphone out and talk about balance and harmony and the bridge that connects them to Bob Hope and Gerald Ford next year.

“What would I ask them? You guys have laid your indelible impressions on the hardware of the American psyche.

“How can you guys guarantee to me--the next generation, two, three, four, five generations down the road--to live in a healthy planet, a good ozone layer up there, the rivers aren’t polluted by sulfuric acid?

“How could you guarantee that generation will live the same comfortable life style you guys do? That’s the question I would ask those guys.�

That ought to liven up the awards ceremony, all right.

This is why golfers go gray: Jay Haas, the $180,000 winner of the Hope, said he had never seen anyone five-putt in tournament competition before Paul Azinger did it in the final round. Azinger also four-putted another hole, giving him a triple bogey and a double bogey.

Know how much those extra putts cost Azinger? Just $56,000. If he had shot par on those two holes, he would have tied David Edwards for second place and they could have made $82,000 each. Instead, Azinger tied for seventh and won $26,000.

When is a grandstand a “stadium chalet?�

When that grandstand is a skybox, the hallmark of VIP living and corporate hospitality at stadiums and arenas. Now, skyboxes are invading golf courses that are sites of professional tournaments.

According to a report in Sports Inc., the sports-business weekly, TPC-Sawgrass, Jacksonville, Fla., site of the Tournament Players Championship, has offered skyboxes for the last four years and they’re really paying off.

For its tournament, the TPC March 24-27, Sawgrass will increase its “stadium chalet� availability at the 17th and 18th greens from last year’s 17 boxes to 48.

At a cost of between $5,000 and $7,000 a box, revenues are expected to surpass $500,000, the magazine says.

Skyboxes allow spectators to view the competition in splendor. Where flat-topped hills overlook the sites, boxes are built on low risers. Elsewhere, scaffolding supports elevated platforms.

The Los Angeles Open, held at the Riviera Country Club, will provide 10 large tents, 5 platform skyboxes overlooking the 17th hole and 10 panorama suites overlooking the finishing hole.

Think it’s working? You bet your chalet.

The L.A. Open package is sold out. Some of the buyers are ARCO, Nissan, GTE, Pacific Bell and Security Pacific. Sharon Rahn, Security Pacific vice president, predicts the company will entertain 700 customers and business associates during the tournament.

Other courses will offer hospitality facilities in different fashion, the magazine reported.

In Connecticut, the Canon Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open will offer corporate sponsors 12 “sky tents� They overlook the 18th hole. They cost $17,000 to $19,000.

Westchester Country Club, in Harrison, N.Y., the site of the Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic, has included in a $6-million renovation upper-level glassed-in viewing and party areas overlooking the 10th tee and the 9th and 18th greens.

It is important to realize, though, that if a grandstand is now a “stadium chalet,� this may change some of the standard names associated with golf.

Bunkers could become “sand-filled repositories.� A greenskeeper may be a “horticultural engineer� and your caddy a “temporary touring consultant.� A golf club may eventually be a “ball location enhancer�--depending on how you play, of course.

Jack Nicklaus says he’ll play in the Doral Open, but he won’t play in the Honda tournament during his warmup for the Masters in early April.

Nicklaus, who turned 48 two weeks ago, said that he’s confining his competition before the Masters to one or two tournaments, possibly the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Feb. 4-7 and Doral.

Golf Notes

Norman Little, 13, cost his father $14 for hot chocolate recently when he shot a hole-in-one on the fifth hole at Studio City golf course. Using a new set of clubs for the first time, the younger Little had to buy the traditional drinks for everyone when he shot his ace. He borrowed the money from his dad for 20 hot chocolates at 65 cents each.

At Rancho Mirage, touring pros Fred Couples and Tommie Armour III each shot 67, but Armour won a playoff for the title in the 17th Howard Cosell Day with the All-American tournament that preceded the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. The All-American Collegiate Foundation has awarded 180 four-year scholarships worth more than $2 million. The team title was won by the fivesome of LPGA pro Heather Drew, baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Larry Wisne, Bill Tarbart and Dick Campanaro.

Professional golf is returning to China for the first time in nearly 40 years. The Pacific qualifying round of the Nations Cup will be held at the Chung Shan course in Guangdong province, April 28-May 1. The course, designed by Arnold Palmer, is a teaching center for young Chinese players. Golf was banned in China after the Communist takeover of 1949, when courses were plowed to grow crops. . . . The Small World Guild of Childrens Hospital of Orange County will hold a benefit tournament Feb. 22 at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa. . . . The St. Francis Pro-Celebrity golf tournament will be played Feb. 1 at Santa Barbara Community Golf Course. Among those scheduled to play are Bob Hope, Buddy Hackett, Billy Barty, Ray Coniff, Johnny Mann, Fred Lynn and Rod Dedeaux. Proceeds will go toward the St. Francis Hospital of Santa Barbara building fund and the purchase of surgical and diagnostic equipment.