Loren Roberts

NEWPORT BEACH - It had been 33 starts that Loren Roberts had gone without a win on the Champions Tour. The 56-year-old who won eight times on the PGA Tour was starting to worry a bit if he could become a champion once again. He studied film to refine his short game last week and came to Newport Beach ready to reacquaint himself with poa annua greens. Twenty-five to 30 mile-per-hour winds brushed through Newport Beach Country Club for the final round of the 18 th Toshiba Classic on Sunday.

Loren Roberts, an eight-time PGA Tour champion and a 13-time Champions Tour winner, was inducted into the Toshiba Classic Hall of Fame at Newport Beach Country Club on Monday. Roberts, who won the 18th annual Toshiba Classic by two strokes, joined the past tournament champions. "It's an honor," Roberts said. "It just great to be among all those great names. " Monday proved to be a busy day for Roberts, who met with the media in the morning. He also posed for photos next to his name on the wall that has the Hall of Fame honorees near the putting green.

There has been no blood, no cuts or bruises seen, but for the past two years, followers of the Champions Tour have witnessed a fight for the ages. In one corner, there’s Jay Haas. He could be called the champ. But that doesn’t necessarily make the opponent, Loren Roberts, the challenger. He’s a champ in his own right. The two have gone toe-to-toe with regard to the Charles Schwab Cup, the season-long points program designed to recognize the Tour’s leading player.

The golf gods smiled on Newport Beach this week as the Toshiba Classic commenced for the 13th year amid perfect weather and near-perfect course conditions. Toshiba officials were blessed with a deep field of professional golfers, many of them household names like Jay Haas, Gary Player, Craig Stadler, Loren Roberts and Lee Trevino. And we must mention the great stories like Tim Simpson, who overcame major health problems to lead day one, and Mark Johnson, who drove a beer truck for 18 years before living out his dream on the golf course.

Tee No. 1 10:30 a.m. - Lonnie Nielsen, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw 10:39 a.m. - Robert L. Thompson, Tom Wargo, D.A. Weibring 10:49 a.m. - Scott Hoch, Fuzzy Zoeller, Sandy Lyle 10:58 a.m. - Morris Hatalsky, Tom Kite, John Jacobs 11:08 a.m. - Fulton Allem, Keith Fergus, Brad Bryant 11:17 a.m. - Mike McCullough, Mark W. Johnson, Jay Sigel 11:27 a.m. - Bruce Lietzke, Massy Kuramoto, David Eger 11:36 a.m. -...

Jay Haas is the defending Toshiba Classic Champion and also the reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year, but even he didn?t like the sound of Fred Funk joining the field for the upcoming tournament. ?Damn,? Haas said in a conference call last week when he found out that Funk was coming to Newport Beach. Funk still plays on the PGA Tour and last year became one of three players to win on the PGA and Champions Tours in the same year. He?s not the only prominent player vying to take Haas?

If you're wondering, yes, this is the first Toshiba Classic I've covered since I've been at the Daily Pilot. It's been fun, but I wanted to add a bit more entertainment. Just to be sure, it's not gambling. Four of us at the Pilot, are playing in a fantasy tournament based on the Toshiba Classic. We're not playing for money. We're playing for pride, and rest assured if I win, I will let them know about it. I already let them know that they made a big mistake letting Jay Haas fall to me in the second round, the seventh pick overall.

Loren Roberts went to Newport Beach Country Club on Nov. 5 for a special day in his honor. But he also wanted to make it a meaningful day for a select group at the golf course. Roberts was being inducted into the Toshiba Classic Hall of Fame. He also conducted an exclusive putting clinic for friends and sponsors of the annual tournament. Those people were learning from one of the best with the putter. Roberts, a.k.a. the Boss of the Moss, is known for his expertise and deftness in the short game.

Loren Roberts, an eight-time PGA Tour champion and a 13-time Champions Tour winner, was inducted into the Toshiba Classic Hall of Fame at Newport Beach Country Club on Monday. Roberts, who won the 18th annual Toshiba Classic by two strokes, joined the past tournament champions. "It's an honor," Roberts said. "It just great to be among all those great names. " Monday proved to be a busy day for Roberts, who met with the media in the morning. He also posed for photos next to his name on the wall that has the Hall of Fame honorees near the putting green.

NEWPORT BEACH - Mark Calcavecchiasaid he could handle the cold pretty well on Saturday and he was all right with the wind. Throw in rain and the combination was wicked to Calcavecchia, but he still went into the clubhouse on top after the second day at the Toshiba Classic. On the third and final day, the conditions were still windy, just not as cold as the day before at Newport Beach Country Club. The almost sunny skies on Sunday are what got to the former British Open champion.

By the time you read this column, it will be at least more than 48 hours since Fred Couples clinched the 16th Toshiba Classic in as smooth a fashion as his soothing swing. There’s been enough time to reflect on the tournament and arrive at some “bests” from the week. After the “bests,” I’ll follow with a few other tidbits. So without further delay, here it goes:   Best shot (of the ones I saw): Couples’ second shot on the 407-yard, par-four ninth hole Saturday.

The 80-player field for next week’s Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club has been released. Headlining the field for the $1.7 million Toshiba Classic are 2009 British Open runner-up Tom Watson, 2008 and 2009 Champions Tour Player of the Year and Arnold Palmer Award (money list) and Byron Nelson Award (low scoring average) winner Bernhard Langer and Champions Tour rookie Fred Couples. That trio won the first three events on the Champions Tour heading into the Toshiba Classic, Southern California’s only Champions Tour event.

To call a 50-year-old golfer a rookie seems sort of silly. But on the Champions Tour, that’s the proper title for Fred Couples, Corey Pavin and Paul Azinger. Yet for most in the Toshiba Classic, the trio is nothing to laugh about. The three players are the ones to watch for while at Newport Beach Country Club, March 5-7. They’ll be vying for the $255,000 winner’s check. Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, nearly won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hawaii Jan. 24. He finished one shot behind the champ Tom Watson, 60. Couples, like Pavin and Azinger, will split 2010 between the PGA and Champions Tours.

Tee No. 1 10:25 a.m. - Bruce Fleisher, Bruce Lietzke, Massy Kuramoto 10:35 a.m. - Fulton Allem, Mike Goodes, Jim Colbert 10:45 a.m. - Scott Hoch, Larry Mize, Nick Price 10:55 a.m. - Bruce Vaughan, Tom Watson, Joey Sindelar 11:05 a.m. - Tom Kite, Don Pooley, Mark Wiebe 11:15 a.m. - Mark W. Johnson, Bob Gilder, Fuzzy Zoeller 11:25 a.m. - Robert L. Thompson, Wayne Levi, Keith Fergus 11:35 a.m. - Tim Simpson, Bobby...

Jay Haas came oh so close a year ago at Newport Beach Country Club. He could’ve became the first repeat winner of the Toshiba Classic. But he was edged in a seven-hole playoff. Instead it was Bernhard Langer riding off with the win and the Toshiba Classic trophy. The victory proved to a bit of forshadowing and a bit of deja vu. Only this time it was Langer producing a grand year in 2008. In 2007, Haas won the Toshiba Classic and went on to great success, becoming the Champions Tour Player of the Year.