A trip down memory lane

As it enters its 13th installment, the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club has proven to be more than a nice place to play some golf.

The tournament has provided its share of drama in all forms, with nearly a quarter of the finishes being decided in sudden death playoffs, two of which were extended to nine holes.

All the factors have added up to an increasing desire for the tour’s top golfers to make the trip.

Now let’s take a trip down the 18-hole memory lane.

1995

The inaugural Toshiba Classic, which was held at Mesa Verde Country Club with 78 golfers from what was then the PGA Senior Tour, provided a surprise champion in George Archer.

Archer, the 1969 Masters champion, announced a day before the tournament that he would retire at season’s end from professional golf because of a degenerative hip. Archer went on to win the tournament with a six-under 199, a stroke ahead of Dave Stockton and Tom Fargo, for his first victory in two years.

Archer had surgery but remained in professional golf, winning another tournament afterward, participating in the Toshiba Classic up until 2003. He died on Sept. 25, 2005 at the age of 65.

1996

The Toshiba Classic moved to Newport Beach Country Club and coincidentally higher profile players like Gary Player and Hale Irwin made their first appearance at the tournament.

But the first year did not provide drama as Jim Colbert took a five-shot lead into the final round then picked up four birdies on the front nine to cruise to a two-stroke victory, his first in California and making him the only wire-to-wire winner of the tournament. Colbert went on to win his second Champions Tour Player of the Year award in 1996.

Bob Eastwood tied the course record set at the 1976 Crosby Southern Pro-Am with a seven-under par 64 on the final day to finish second. Hale Irwin would break the record two years later.

1997

Spectators starving for a little drama after 1996 received more than they could have expected this year with Jay Sigel and Bob Murphy.

Sigel and Murphy dueled their way to a then Champions Tour record long playoff of nine holes.

Sigel was six strokes behind Murphy with eight holes remaining in the final round, but Murphy had three bogeys on the back nine and Sigel birdied his last three holes to force a playoff.

ESPN captured the next two hours of back and forth play, in which the pair played the 18th hole four times and the 16th hole three times. It was Murphy who won the war of attrition with an 80-foot birdie putt on the two-tiered green of the 17th hole. It was also the second-longest playoff in PGA history.

1998

Hale Irwin provided the tournament with a different form of a drama in the final round.

Irwin stepped onto the course on Sunday with 11 players ahead of him and five strokes off the lead.

He went on to shoot a 62, breaking the course record by two strokes and edging Hubert Green by one. Irwin made 10 birdies to only one bogey.

It was Irwin’s first victory of the year, but far from his last. Irwin would have the best season in Champions Tour history, winning seven tournaments, picking up $2.86 million in winnings and nearly every postseason award.

1999

The Toshiba Classic made history this year as well, except it was of the personal persuasion.

Gary McCord, who was best known for being a television analyst, had not won an event on the PGA or Senior PGA tours in 382 attempts. McCord would break his drought but not without a four-way playoff.

Al Geiberger bogeyed the par-five 18th hole to set up a playoff with McCord, John Jacobs and Allen Doyle. Geiberger and Doyle were quickly eliminated when Jacobs and McCord eagled the first playoff hole. Jacobs and McCord, both donning Hawaiian shirts, went on to match each other until the fifth playoff hole where McCord, who missed a three-foot putt for the win on the fourth playoff hole, picked up the victory with a birdie.

2000

Arnold Palmer made the sixth edition of the Toshiba Classic memorable just by participating. It was the legendary golfer’s first and last appearance at the tournament, which he finished tied for 75th.

Heavy rainfall also made its first and only appearance at the tournament causing cancellation of the final round because three of the holes were unplayable. Allen Doyle, who missed out on a playoff victory a year earlier, took advantage of the rainy conditions. Doyle was tied with Howard Twitty and Jim Thorpe entering the 18th hole of the second round.

With another playoff on the horizon if the rainy weather continued, Doyle picked up a birdie on the 18th and took home a $195,000 check on Sunday.

2001

Jose Maria Canizares and Gil Morgan kept the Toshiba Classic trend of plentiful playoffs going with a nine-hole affair.

Maria Canizares sank a 21-foot put for birdie on the ninth hole to take the title which was his first in his four-year Champions Tour Career. It was the tournament’s third playoff in five years but it came at a price for Terry Mauney and Bob Gilder. The pair entered the final round tied for the lead but each fired a six-over 77 to fall well out of contention.

Allen Doyle finished in third place, his lowest spot in three Toshiba Classic appearances. It was the first appearance for Tom Watson and Raymond Floyd at the NBCC.

2002

Once again Hale Irwin put on a golf clinic. Four years after posting a record-breaking round, Irwin bested himself by notching a record-breaking total. Irwin finished at 17-under 196 to break George Archer’s mark of 199 set in 1995.

Irwin had command of the tournament throughout, putting up scores of 67, 64 and 65 for a five-stroke victory over Allen Doyle, who finished in the top three for the fourth straight year. Doyle’s 12-under final would have picked up the title at most of the previous Toshiba Classics.

Irwin remains the only repeat winner of the tournament.

2003

A year after Hale Irwin set the tournament mark Rodger Davis nearly matched it finishing with a 197 and a four-stroke victory.

For Davis the victory and subsequent $232,500 helped ease the stress of having been robbed at gunpoint while in Mexico City for a tournament two weeks prior. The win meant Davis had posted victories on five different continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America.

2004

Jack Nicklaus provided the tournament with some extra star power four years after Arnold Palmer did the same. Nicklaus finished tied for 36th.

But Tom Purtzer stole the show. Purtzer annihilated Hale Irwin’s course record with an 11-under 60 in the opening round. In the final five holes, Purtzer picked up three birdies and an eagle. Morris Hatalsky would apply the pressure, tying Purtzer after the second round, but Purtzer’s 67 in the final round was good enough for a one-stroke victory over Hatalsky.

2005

Mark Johnson’s background and finish supplied the drama at the 11th installment of the Toshiba Classic. Johnson had been a beer truck driver for 18 years, earning himself the nickname ‘Beer Man,’ and a California state amateur champion.

Johnson took a three-stroke lead over Keith Fergus after a second-round 63. On Sunday, Johnson holed out on the 18th hole from 91 yards for eagle to clinch the tournament.

2006

The Toshiba Classic was up for grabs this year as 28 golfers were within five strokes of one another. The finish would be just as furious, with the lead changing hands throughout the day.

When the sand settled Brad Bryant had birdied five of his final eight holes for a 5-under 66, tying Bobby Wadkins for the low score of the day. Bryant edged out Wadkins, John Harris and Mark Johnson by one stroke and three other golfers by two strokes for the title, his first on the Champions Tour.