The field is open for play

The Shot from the Top contest is over. The Pro-Am is finished.

Now it’s time for the real thing, the 12th annual Toshiba Classic, which starts today at the par-71, 6,584-yard Newport Beach Country Club and continues through the final round on Sunday.

So who’s going to win this year’s Toshiba Classic? It’s anyone’s guess. After all, who would have predicted that Mark Johnson, a guy who never played on the PGA Tour, would have earned his first professional win in last year’s Toshiba Classic?

Who would have predicted that in the 1999 Toshiba Classic, Gary McCord would capture his first title in close to 400 attempts on both tours combined?

Whoever wins this year’s event will probably be the golfer who best masters the course’s tricky greens with its swoops and slopes.

“You have to be on with your short game,” Peter Jacobson said. “You can hit a great wedge shot and it can easily spin off the green.”

Newport Beach Country Club boasts the shortest course on the Champions Tour. Accuracy and a strong short game are keys.

“I think you have to drive it straight and keep it out of the trees,” said USC alum Scott Simpson, who just turned 50 last September and is playing the Toshiba Classic for the first time. “And the putting greens are tough to read. They tend to break toward the ocean, but as soon as you say that, it doesn’t.”

That leaves plenty of questions to be answered this weekend.

Can Johnson defy the odds and repeat? Can Simpson make a triumphant debut and wind up in the winner’s circle? Or will it be Tom Purtzer, who shot an 11-under-par 60 in the opening round of the Toshiba Classic in 2004? Or USC’s Dave Stockton, who has had a lot of success here, including last year, when he finished tied for eighth place, and 1995, when he took second.

Can Hale Irwin ? who shot the best 54 holes in Toshiba Classic history in 2002 when he had a three-day score of 196 ? capture the title again? Irwin, who also won in 1998, is considered one of the best iron players in history.

“I kind of have to go with the ball strikers,” Simpson said. “The usual suspects, like Kite, Irwin, Gil Morgan or, hopefully, Scott Simpson. This should be a course that fits me well. I hit pretty consistent and putt well when I’m on.”

Kite could be one of the better picks in the tournament. The 1997 Ryder Cup captain is on the upswing after struggling last year on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

“I didn’t play particularly well last year,” Kite said. “I struggled with my ball striking ... and I didn’t putt well.”

Kite recorded a two-under-par 70 last Sunday to win the AT&T; Classic at Valencia. He finished with a 12-under-par 204, five shots ahead of Gil Morgan (209). Kite’s best finish in the Toshiba Classic was a tie for 10th in 2001.

“I’ve put in the time and the work, and my swing has really started to come around,” Kite said. “The hard work is starting to pay off.”

Kite, 57, a 19-time champion on the PGA Tour, said he drives the ball further now than he did during his prime on the PGA Tour. He credited a weight-training regimen he has been on for the last 10 to 12 years and new equipment for his increase in length.

“I probably averaged 265 yards when I was playing my best golf on the PGA Tour,” Kite said. “Now I’m averaging 280.”

Still, Kite said he realizes his short game will be the key this weekend.

“You get rewarded for hitting a lot of good iron shots,” Kite said.

The most logical choice to win this year’s Toshiba Classic, however, would probably be Irwin. After all, he’s not only the lone two-time winner of the event, he’s won 40% of the tournaments he’s competed in this year ? not that he’s impressed.

“In my five events this year, I have two wins and three poor events,” Irwin said. “I’ve sort of had a mixed bag.”

Irwin wasn’t thrilled with the way he hit the ball in the pro-am on Thursday, but it doesn’t concern him.

“I kind of discount the pro-ams,” Irwin said. “I just try to have a good time with the guys.”

So who does Irwin think will win the Toshiba Classic?

“You name it, give me some names,” Irwin said. “I see Jay Haas as being a favorite ... Kite ... I see Gil Morgan as being a favorite ... and Peter Jacobson could still be the guy to beat if his knee isn’t bothering him too much.”

Last year, Johnson eagled the 18th hole from 89 yards out to capture the tourney title and the $247,500 that came with it.

This year, it’s anybody’s guess who will make history. Jerry Pate, crowd favorite Fuzzy Zoeller, Jim Thorpe, and even dark horses like Newport Beach Country Club head professional Paul Hahn and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rick Rhoden (who earned a spot by winning Monday’s qualifying round at Goose Creek Golf Club) could be factors.dpt.17-toshiba-kite-kt-CPhotoInfoVV1P1QUI20060317iw92n3knPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Tom Kite, above, shown here during Thursday’s Toshiba Classic Pro-Am, is one of the many favorites going into this weekend’s Toshiba Classic. Below, Keith Fergus hits a chip shot onto the 18th green during the Pro-Am. dpt.16toshiba-logo-cmyk-BPhotoInfoVV1P1TA120060317iuebthnc(LA)dpt.17-toshiba-3-kt-BPhotoInfoVV1P1T1U20060317iw93lgkn(LA)