Richard Dunn
With golf's greatest championship opening today at Pebble Beach,
the parlance and emotions of the 100th U.S. Open surround the late Payne
Stewart, a spiritual member of the former Crosby Southern Pro-Am Hall of
Fame.
And, while all competitive eyes will focus on Tiger Woods, or anybody
else with marquee status on the PGA Tour, "37-year-old Californian"
Dennis Paulson will quietly try to win titles in back-to-back weekends
and inch closer to his goal of retirement.
The October 1999 death of Stewart in an airplane crash jolted thousands,
including those involved in the 1982 Crosby Southern (later the Taco Bell
Newport Classic Pro-Am, and, later, the Toshiba Senior Classic).
Ed Dougherty, now on the Senior PGA Tour, won that year's Crosby Southern
by three strokes over Jim Booros and Larry Mize at Irvine Coast Country
Club (now Newport Beach Country Club).
But when the championship tees off today and guys start thinking about
birdies on one of the world's most renowned golf courses, Paulson, the
Costa Mesa High product, will play in near obscurity, which is fine with
him.
Paulson, who won the Buick Classic Sunday in Harrison, N.Y., will
probably find the greens a little more bumpy than many of his competitors
with his 2 p.m. tee time today in the first round. But he doesn't mind.
As we head into Father's Day, Paulson's mind is on the future with items
of interest closer to his heart.
"I want to be retired by (age 45) and watch my kids grow," Paulson said
earlier this season. "I love my job ... but I only want to do this for as
long as I have to.
"If I win six tournaments in the next six years, you might never see me
again. It's a living, it's a job and I enjoy what I do, but it's still a
job. I try to put the hours in when I'm not working -- you've got to
treat it like a job to improve.
"But I'd like to retire like anybody else. Wouldn't you? ... if I don't
have to play golf, then I'll cut back and spend more time with my family.
I'd love to be a professional dad. That's a lot greater than a
professional golfer."
Paulson's Buick Classic purse of $540,000 for his first PGA Tour win
lifted his 2000 earnings to a mere $774,289. In 15 events, he has made
the cut 10 times.
America first heard Paulson at the Masters, when the Santa Ana Country
Club member led after the first round at Augusta and, eventually,
finished tied for 14th (to take home $75,900).
But to win sets you apart. Guarantees your entry for the 2001 PGA Tour
campaign.
