Sunday Was Just Another Quiet Day at the Office for the Other Wadkins

As a gallery of thousands thundered after Lanny Wadkins on the back nine at Riviera Country Club Sunday, brother Bobby was virtually alone as he quietly finished the Los Angeles Open’s last round on the ninth hole.

Wife Linda and a gallery of about two dozen saw Bobby put the finishing touches on an even-par 71. This followed rounds of 67-73-75, gave him a two-over 286 and ultimately left him 22 strokes behind his record-breaking brother.

In fact, by the time Lanny had completed his demolition of Riviera with a 20-under total of 264 for an eight-stroke victory, Bobby and Linda were on their way to LAX for a flight to San Francisco.

An indication of sibling rivalry? Not at all, Bobby said before leaving. He emptied his Riviera locker and said:

“I’ll pull like a mother for him but I’m not going to go out and fight the crowds to watch him play. I figure he can handle it himself.

“I mean, he doesn’t have any bigger fan. As well as respecting his golf game, which he’s obviously on top of right now, he’s been a great brother.”

Bobby paused, then said: “Don’t get me wrong. I wish it was ‘B. Wadkins’ rather than ‘L. Wadkins’ up on the board right now, but if it’s not me I’m glad it’s him.”

It generally is when the brothers Wadkins are involved.

Lanny, 35, now has 14 tour victories and more than $2 million in earnings for his 14 plus years as a pro. He has won two of the three tour events this year and $172,350.

Bobby, 33, won the 1978 European Open and a 1979 tournament in Japan but has yet to win in 10 years on the tour. He has career earnings of about $615,000, including $121,373 in 1968, his best year, and $108,335 last year, when he was 67th on the money list.

This year, while Lanny was winning the Bob Hope tournament, tying for 11th at Phoenix and winning the L.A. Open, Bobby tied for 36th, 31st and 46th respectively. Lanny won $72,000 Sunday. Bobby won $1,134.

“I wish we practiced revenue sharing,” Bobby said with a laugh, “but we don’t.”

The less renown Wadkins had played Sunday with one eye on his own game and one on the scoreboard. The environment wasn’t conducive to par breaking.

“I wish I had been more in the hunt myself,” he said, “because I had the tendency to think more about Lanny’s game than my own.

“In fact, I made the comment to my caddy when Lanny was coming up to 8, 9, 10 and 11, which had been playing easily, that the whole tournament was in the balance, that if he threw up some birdies there, he’d probably run away and hide.”

Lanny birdied 9, 10 and 11, opening a five-stroke lead.

Bobby wasn’t surprised.

On the $21-million tour, where many now play only for the money and are satisfied with a top 10 finish, Lanny Wadkins is one of the few to attack a course in the hell-bent manner of Arnold Palmer.

“If Lanny has a chance to win,” Bobby said, “he’ll go for it at all cost. In fact, the money is secondary to him. He plays only to win. Nothing replaces winning for him, and he’s probably thrown a lot of money away because of it. He probably could have won $3 million instead of $2 million, but then that’s his prerogative.”

It’s probably also what differentiates the brothers. Those familiar with the tour say Bobby lacks the killer instinct, the perfectionist drive that made Lanny a club thrower and left him with a temperamental reputation during his early years as a pro.

“I’ll go for it, too,” Bobby Wadkins said, “but I’ll also back off if I have no chance with three or four holes left. If I can’t win, second is better than third. If Lanny can’t win, he tends to ask himself, ‘why am I even out here?’ ”

The differences go beyond aggressiveness.

“I may generally hit the ball longer than Lanny does,” Bobby said, “but he’s obviously the better putter, and from the 5-iron down through the sand wedge, he’s as good as anyone ever.

“Golf has also been everything for Lanny. He had made up his mind by the ninth grade that he wanted to play professionally. I played football, baseball and basketball in high school and still wish I could have been 6-or-7 inches taller (he’s 6-1) so that I could have done more in basketball. I didn’t have any ambition to become a pro golfer until after my second year in college.

“That put Lanny about 10 years ahead of me in experience and I’m still trying to catch up.”

The teen-age Lanny and Bobby kept the Richmond, Va., junior title in the Wadkins family for six straight years. Bobby, who still lives there, said he and Lanny would often play 36 holes a day during the summer. Lanny went to Wake Forest and Bobby to East Tennessee State but they still play most of their practice rounds together and they still either go to each other for instruction or to their joint business manager, Vinnie Giles, a former U.S. and British Amateur champion.

Bobby Wadkins also recently went to Dr. Bob Rotella, a University of Virginia sports psychologist, for help with his concentration and intensity, but seems to doubt that it will ever reach Lanny’s level.

“I don’t think Lanny is playing any better than he did last year,” Bobby said, “but he is putting better and his confidence is so high that it alone can make a difference. He came to me after the Hope and asked how I thought his game looked and I just laughed and said, ‘Damn, Lanny, you were 33 under. How the hell do you think it looked?’ ”

Asked if it is ever with envy and frustration that he looks on his brother’s accomplishments, Bobby Wadkins closed his locker, shook his head and said:

“I don’t ever compare myself to Lanny or ever experience jealousy toward him. My feeling is that if he can do it, I can do it. The frustrations I have are those I put on myself and have nothing to do with Lanny.

“I may never win the money or titles he has but I do think I can achieve my own goals. I know I can win, I’ve done it overseas. I’ve been second on the tour several times and my first goal is to win. My second is to be a solid, consistent player. I’m capable of finishing in the top 30 on the money list. I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something if I can do that for several years.”