Gary Mccord

TODAY 7 a.m., 12:45 p.m. Classic Pro-am, presented by Kingston Technology Amateurs team up with Senior PGA Tour players on each day of the two-day event. THURSDAY 7 a.m., 12:45 p.m. Final round of Classic Pro-am play. INSIDE SPORTS Everything is up to par as the Toshiba Senior Classic Pro-am begins today at Newport Beach Country Club. Gene Littler continues his quest of shooting his age (69), Gary McCord is, well, Gary McCord, and tournament officials believe a new plateau is within reach for donations to Hoag Hospital.

TODAY 7:30 a.m. Community breakfast, Newport Beach Marriott Toshiba Senior Classic champion Gary McCord shares his experiences. $100 per person. 4 p.m. Junior Clinic, practice range Local youths pick up a few pointers from Dennis Walters, a disabled golfer and trick-shot artist, accompanied by his dog Benji Hogan. WEDNESDAY 7 a.m., 12:45 p.m. Classic pro-am presented by Kingston Technology Amateur foursomes are paired with Senior Tour players on each day of this two-day event.

Sunday, Feb. 27 -- Celebrity Pro-Am Kickoff Party, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (at 19th Hole, Newport Beach Country Club) Monday, Feb. 28 -- Celebrity Pro-Am, shotgun start at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 29 -- Community Breakfast presented by Deloitte & Touche, 7:30 a.m., Newport Beach Marriott. Defending Toshiba Senior Classic champion Gary McCord is the featured speaker. Player practice rounds -- all day Junior Clinic, 4 p.m., at practice range Wednesday, March 1 -- Classic Pro-Am, shotgun starts at 7 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Thursday, March 2 -- Classic Pro-Am, shotgun starts at 7 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Friday, March 3 -- First round of Toshiba Senior Classic, tee times begin at approximately 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 4 -- Second round of Toshiba Senior Classic, tee times begin at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday, March 5 -- Final round of Toshiba Senior Classic, tee times begin at approximately 7:30 a.m.

Richard Dunn NEWPORT COAST - Early player commitments for the Hyundai Team Matches at Pelican Hill Golf Club were announced Tuesday with some of the top names in professional golf scheduled to join Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in the made-for-television event Dec. 16-17. This year's field, which includes four two-player teams from the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours, will include Phil Mickelson of the PGA Tour, Gary McCord of the Senior Tour and Grace Park of the LPGA Tour.

Closest to the pin will take on new meaning for four PGA Champions Tour golfers on Tuesday. Gary McCord, John Jacobs, Fuzzy Zoeller and David Feherty will each hit a tee shot from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott -- a height of 162 feet -- to the green of the par-4 second hole, about 115 yards away, at Newport Beach Country Club at 11 a.m. The winning player will earn $2,000, to be donated to the charity ...

Closest to the pin will take on new meaning for four PGA Champions Tour golfers Tuesday, March 15, of Toshiba Senior Classic week. Gary McCord, John Jacobs, Fuzzy Zoeller and David Feherty will each hit a tee shot from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott -- a height of 162 feet -- to the green of the par-4 second hole, about 115 yards away, at Newport Beach Country Club at 11 a.m. The winning player will earn $2,000,...

Matches at Pelican Hill Richard Dunn NEWPORT COAST - Bruce Fleisher, on pace to win his second straight money title on the Senior PGA Tour, committed Wednesday to the Hyundai Team Matches Dec. 15-17 at Pelican Hill Golf Club. Fleisher, last year's Senior Tour Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year with a tour-leading $2,515,705 in earnings, "accepted our invitation about an hour ago," tournament director Gary Pollard said Wednesday about 3:30 p.m. Fleisher played with David Graham last year and finished third in the made-for-television event, but did not want to announce his partner.

Gary McCord has elicited the help of a nuclear physicist in preparation of Tuesday's closest to the pin competition off the top of the Newport Beach Marriott. McCord, the 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic champion, along with Fuzzy Zoeller, John Jacobs and David Feherty, will each hit a ball from the top of the hotel -- a height of 162 feet and distance of 115 yards -- to the par-4 second green at Newport Beach Country Club. "We are going to raise the roof, so to speak," McCord said.

Moments after a sit-down interview with four golfing greats, one of them wanted to turn the tables. "I have a question for you," Hale Irwin said at the Newport Beach Country Club Monday night. "What would you do to improve the Toshiba Classic?" I couldn't think of anything. I just said that big names in the field always help. But then I thought, hey this doesn't hurt. I was referring to the new Toshiba Classic Hall of Fame. The inaugural class was introduced at a special ceremony Monday night at Newport Beach Country Club.

With a brisk breeze clearing the air the day before, all of Orange County was in clear view Tuesday, and from my vantage point, I could see the Pacific Ocean glistening on the horizon. That vantage point was the roof of the 16-story Newport Beach Marriott, where the fourth annual Shot from the Top took place with a view nothing short of majestic. “There is not a better panoramic view in all of Newport Beach,” said Laura Mettler, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.

NEWPORT BEACH ? Gary McCord, who's been known to crack wise at times, brought his arsenal on Tuesday. Sizing up his shot from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott, the PGA Champions Tour veteran asked if he'd be better off throwing the ball toward the Newport Beach Country Club's second green. Then he whipped out the rangefinder from his bag and tried to measure the distance, talking about terminal velocity and barometric pressure. But when all the talking was done, all he needed was a swing of the club.

Bryce Alderton Before hitting a shot from the most elevated tee of all, professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller made a prediction. "If we do a good job, this might catch on," said Zoeller, who joined Gary McCord, David Feherty and Mark Lye atop the Newport Beach Marriott on Tuesday morning in the first closest-to-the-pin competition hit from the top of a hotel during Toshiba Senior Classic week. Zoeller did his part, hitting a 3/4 sand wedge -- his first of three shots -- within 4 feet, 2 inches of the pin at Newport Beach Country Club's par-4 second hole to edge his fellow competitors and win $2,000 for his favorite charity -- Fuzzy's Kids.

S.J. CAHN Tuesday at the Toshiba Senior Classic provided this piece of useless until you desperately need it information: A golf ball hit from 162 feet above you is nearly impossible to see. Of two dozen or so balls hit off the roof of the Newport Beach Marriott to the 2nd green at the Newport Beach Country Club, I managed to see just one, and it just briefly. It just so happened to be hit by Daily Pilot sports reporter Bryce Alderton. He was one of the four lucky media guys who were 16 stories up with a quartet of pros enjoying what will have to go down as one of the tournament's highlights this year.

Tony Dodero Golfing aficionados and fans were treated to a morning of ribald humor and some unprintable jokes Tuesday in what has become a staple of the weeklong festivities surrounding the annual Toshiba Senior Classic golf tournament -- the annual Breakfast with the Champions. The breakfast this year featured keynote speakers Gary McCord and David Feherty, who normally are employed as color commentators for CBS Sports golf coverage. The pair kept the Balboa Bay Club crowd of about 400 in stitches with a litany of one-liners, scatological references and good-natured ribbing of amateur and professional golfers.

Closest to the pin will take on new meaning for four PGA Champions Tour golfers on Tuesday. Gary McCord, John Jacobs, Fuzzy Zoeller and David Feherty will each hit a tee shot from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott -- a height of 162 feet -- to the green of the par-4 second hole, about 115 yards away, at Newport Beach Country Club at 11 a.m. The winning player will earn $2,000, to be donated to the charity ...

Gary McCord has elicited the help of a nuclear physicist in preparation of Tuesday's closest to the pin competition off the top of the Newport Beach Marriott. McCord, the 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic champion, along with Fuzzy Zoeller, John Jacobs and David Feherty, will each hit a ball from the top of the hotel -- a height of 162 feet and distance of 115 yards -- to the par-4 second green at Newport Beach Country Club. "We are going to raise the roof, so to speak," McCord said.

Closest to the pin will take on new meaning for four PGA Champions Tour golfers Tuesday, March 15, of Toshiba Senior Classic week. Gary McCord, John Jacobs, Fuzzy Zoeller and David Feherty will each hit a tee shot from the top of the Newport Beach Marriott -- a height of 162 feet -- to the green of the par-4 second hole, about 115 yards away, at Newport Beach Country Club at 11 a.m. The winning player will earn $2,000,...

BRYCE ALDERTON This year's Toshiba Senior Classic Champions Breakfast on Tuesday morning of tournament week will bring back memories for at least one Newport Beach Country Club member. Gary McCord, the 1999 Toshiba Senior Classic champion and current golf analyst for CBS, and colleague David Feherty, will undoubtedly delight the crowd gathered March 15 at the Balboa Bay Club with their witty humor and wisecracks. Three days later during Friday's first round, McCord will stroll up the ninth fairway at Newport Beach Country Club and come within shouting distance of a childhood friend and teammate.