Simi Valley Senior Golf Tournament : Charles Takes 2-Shot Lead; Is It a Trend?

SIMI VALLEY — Bob Charles apparently is continuing a trend on the PGA Seniors Tour.

The left-hander from New Zealand, fresh from his first victory on the 50-and-over circuit last week in the Vintage tournament, shot a five-under-par 67 at Wood Ranch Golf Club Friday for a two-stroke lead in the first round of the GTE tournament.

Charles, trying to become the third player to win consecutive senior events in California, had five birdies on the last nine holes to overtake Tommy Aaron in the 54-hole, $275,000 tournament. Aaron, the baby of the tour (he turned 50 last month), shot a 69. Although the winds were not as strong as expected, only six players were under par.

Last year’s leading money winner, Bruce Crampton, was at 70, and Arnold Palmer and Bob Rosburg both came in at 71. Rosburg is entered in the Super Seniors portion of the tournament, for players 60 and over, and leads former U.S. Open champion Jack Fleck by one shot in that division. The Super Seniors concludes with 18 holes today.

This is the first time the seniors have played at Wood Ranch. The first two Los Angeles area events for the old-timers were at MountainGate Country Club. Both were won by golfers who had won the Vintage at Indian Wells the week previously.

In 1985, after winning at Vintage, Peter Thomson made it consecutive wins on the way to an unprecedented nine tournament victories. Last year, Dale Douglass won his first senior event, the Vintage, then won again at MountainGate.

“Well, I don’t want to change the trend,” said Charles, 51, who also won for the first time at the 1987 Vintage. “I have a good feeling. I’m on a roll. I hit some very good iron shots.”

With the wind not so severe, there were fewer complaints about the difficulty of the course. Several players pointed out that the greens had been heavily watered and were holding shots better than they had during the pro-am.

Rosburg, who is a sportscaster for ABC and misses most of the tour, said that the 7,000-yard course with its undulating greens was about as easy to play Friday as it will get.

“This is a very difficult course,” said the former Stanford golfer, who won the 1959 PGA Championship. “The wind was consistent today, coming from the west instead of switching around. The greens were holding, the pins were set in favorable positions and the tees were up.

“It could get worse. There are so many dangerous holes, you have to use your brain. There are holes that you must lay up on and you can’t go for the flag on some of them. You have to be careful.”

In many ways, Palmer’s 71 was the most remarkable. Others may play some holes safe, but that is not Palmer’s style.

Palmer, who had a big majority of the gallery cheering him on, is having a problem with torn cartilage in his right knee. Soon, he will undergo arthroscopic surgery. He is hoping he can play four more weeks before he has to take time off.

The knee hurts, especially when he walks downhill. There is a lot of that at Wood Ranch. It might be better if he rode a cart, but he can’t. He led a drive to force all able-bodied seniors to walk instead of riding a cart. It just wouldn’t look right.

It may be significant that the three leaders are all strong advocates of the Centinela Hospital Medical Center conditioning program. Aaron, playing a third week in a row for the first time in six years, finds it especially important.

“After 21 years on the regular PGA tour, I practically stopped playing competitively in 1982,” said Aaron, the 1973 Masters champion. “I became eligible for the Del Webb at Phoenix.

“I found my legs were tired. Then, I started going to the trailer and I’m using the bicycle. I’ve stepped up the program and I know it helps.

“I think the guys who play on the regular tour right up to the time they are 50 have a big advantage. In fact, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get back into the swing. I am gratified that it has happened this fast.

“This is all new to me, even though I played the regular tour for so long. I feel like a rookie.

“The people I work for (Stouffer Pine Isle Resort north of Atlanta) encouraged me to join the seniors. But when I talked about it with my wife, she said, ‘Not again. We’ve already done that for 21 years.’ She’s already changed her mind.”

It may be she understands that the senior tour is a gold mine. In infrequent appearances on the regular tour, including every year in the Masters, since 1981, Aaron earned only $5,871. In two senior events, he has earned $5,728.

John Schubeck, news anchor man at CBS, turned pro three weeks ago and received a sponsor’s exemption. After shooting a 10-over 46 on his first nine, he withdrew because of an ankle injury.