Richard Dunn
NEWPORT BEACH - Allen Doyle no longer needs to pick up golf balls,
cut the grass and serve as electrician and plumber at his small-town
driving range.
But, now, Doyle is still someone rarely heard from, despite being one of
the richest and most successful golfers on the Senior PGA Tour.
That's because nobody's asking.
After his rain-shortened, 36-hole victory in the Toshiba Senior Classic
at Newport Beach Country Club, the good ol' boy from La Grange, Ga., is
continuing to make a lot of noise on the senior tour -- no matter who's
asking.
Benefiting more than anyone from Sunday's stormy weather and final-round
cancellation, Doyle earned a first-place check of $195,000 without teeing
off, after shooting four-under-par 67 on Saturday in the second round to
take a one-stroke lead over Howard Twitty and Jim Thorpe.
Doyle finished at six-under 136 for the tournament and became the sixth
different champion in the event's six-year history.
"I don't make the rules, I just play by them," Doyle said of his title.
"I'm thrilled to win. It would've been better for the tournament and the
sponsor and the fans to play (a final round), but it just didn't happen."
Doyle, known mostly for having the shortest backswing on the senior tour
and being an inspiration to hackers with similar quirks, is rarely asked
his opinions and is almost never scrutinized by the media.
"I don't mind laying back and not being in the limelight," Doyle said.
"Other guys get asked why they're not playing better after a round, and
guys get asked when they're going to win again. But I don't get asked
that much. They (members of the media) are not worried about me.
"They'll ask Tom Kite when he's going to win, and they'll ask Tom Watson
(who won his second start on the senior tour last September) when he's
going to win again, and, by about April, they'll start asking Lanny
Wadkins why he's playing so poorly. And they'll ask Bruce Fleisher when
he's going to win again.
"But they won't ask me that. I'm that next tier down."
Actually, Doyle ranked third on the senior tour money list at $1,911,640
last year as a rookie, and, following this weekend's title at the Toshiba
Classic, is second among 2000 money leaders at $356,888.
So Doyle isn't exactly on that next tier down. "But that's the
perception," he said.
He isn't animated like Gary McCord, he has a funny backswing and he was
never a regular on the PGA Tour. But Doyle was one of the nation's best
amateur players and realizes now he can compete against the marquee names
