TOSHIBA CLASSIC NOTEBOOK:

NEWPORT BEACH — Bernhard Langer certainly has someone he totally trusts in his corner as he begins his quest to become the first repeat winner at the Toshiba Classic today at Newport Beach Country Club.

Langer’s son, Stefan, will be his caddy. He has been for the past two tournaments Langer has played when he finished third and tied for third.

Langer opened 2009 with a victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship with Terry Holt as his caddy.

But then Langer brought in Stefan, 18, who will be his father’s caddy through May and then he’ll go off to college, Langer said.

Holt will be Scott Hoch’s caddy.

Hoch, Langer and Ben Crenshaw will tee off today at 11:55 a.m. on No. 1.

 You won’t get Langer to say that he’ll be the first repeat Toshiba winner, and just the second two-time winner of the tournament. When he was asked who will be in contention this weekend, he failed to mention himself.

“It’s hard to say. I would guess Loren Roberts,� Langer said, providing those who will be at the top in the tournament. “His confidence is high after winning two weeks ago. Probably John Cook. He’s contending in a lof of events, and he’s a local boy. Maybe Tom Watson. Could be anybody I mean, out of the 78 guys, there’s probably 50 or 60 guys that could win. Gene Jones had a chance, you know, there’s a lot of good players out here. Just depends who is hot.�

With a win and two third-place finishes, Langer is certainly hot enough and capable of winning. Yet, he’s not blowing smoke when saying that anyone can win the Toshiba. No repeat winner at the tournament is proof of that.

But should it be fair to say that Langer is the man to beat?

“That’s up to [the media],� Langer said. “I would like to think if you asked the whole field, that I would be mentioned a number of times, but there’s a lot of other guys, too.�

Before the tournament, however, Langer did say that records are meant to be broken.

 Langer, a two-time Masters champ, seems to be in position to Toshiba’s first repeat winner. He leads the Charles Schwab Cup standings, the season-long bonus-points competition that rewards players for top-10 finishes at all 25 official events on the Champions Tour. He has 525 after three events. Loren Roberts (305) trails in second.

Langer also leads the money list at $525,400.

This year’s Toshiba has a $1.7 million purse with $255,000 and 255 Charles Schwab Cup points going to the winner.

 Langer will not have the opportunity to defend his crown against the man he went against in a memorable seven-hole playoff last year. Jay Haas, the 2007 Toshiba champion, withdrew from the tournament. He is planning to instead attend his daughter’s high school state basketball championship game in South Carolina on Saturday.

Fulton Allem replaces Haas.

Gil Morgan is the only other pro who has withdrawn from the tournament. Morgan was replaced by Tom Wargo.

 Wednesday’s Classic Pro-Am served as a memorable round for David Lown of Laguna Niguel. The amateur, playing with pro Jim Thorpe, made a hole-in-one at the par-three, 185-yard No. 17.

 Bob Murphy, the 1997 Toshiba Classic winner, will make his first appearance at the Newport Beach Country Club since 1999. Murphy has been unable to play in this Champions Tour event in recent years because of his broadcast commitments to NBC Sports.

 Allen Doyle might be someone to watch for as contenders to win Toshiba. He has enjoyed great success at Newport Beach Country Club. In his 10 appearances at Toshiba, Doyle won the event in 2000 and has six other top-10 finishes, which is the most by any player. Of his 29 rounds played, 22 have been in the 60s with just two rounds over par. He is a cumulative 76-under-par and is second on the event’s all-time money list with $677,076.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].