Playing T of C Is Verplank’s Prize : As Event’s First Amateur, He Gets Trophy, Win or Lose

When Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 60, an asterisk was put beside his name in the record book. It was a source of embarrassment, since it indicated that Maris’ season was longer than Ruth’s.

When Scott Verplank defeated Jim Thorpe in a playoff to win the Western Open last summer, they put an asterisk beside his name, too. It was no source of embarrassment, though. It meant that he was an amateur, and it signaled a remarkable achievement.

Maris was perceived to be the bad guy when he surpassed the Babe, sport’s eternal hero. Verplank, on the other hand, was someone to cheer when he became the first amateur golfer to beat the professionals in a PGA event in 31 years.

He did it by shooting 68-68-69--74 at Butler National in Oak Brook, Ill., rated one of the most difficult courses in the country, and then going two extra holes before beating Thorpe.

Not since Gene Littler won the San Diego Open in 1954 had a simon-pure accomplished what Verplank did on the PGA tour.

One of the benefits of Verplank’s victory was an invitation to the MONY Tournament of Champions, an exclusive event to which only the year’s previous tournament winners are invited. Today, in the company of 30 professionals, he will tee off at La Costa Country Club in the opening event of the 1986 season.

The 30 pros will be after a $90,000 winner’s purse. Verplank will settle for a trophy--win or lose.

It was the same at the Western Open, where Thorpe, the runner-up, collected $90,000 and Verplank took home a piece of hardware to set alongside his Western Amateur trophy.

Although his win made him immediately eligible for the tour, Verplank chose to remain an amateur at least until May, when he will graduate from Oklahoma State with a degree in business administration.

“Some things are more important than money,” Verplank said Tuesday after finishing his pro-am round at La Costa. “I know if I quit now, I would never go back, and I have worked too hard for three years to throw it all away.”

Verplank, who had a 3.36 grade-point average last year, is the only collegian to be named to both the All-American Academic team and the All-American golf team in the same year.

“I definitely want to play in the NCAA one more time,” he said. “I’ve had fun in college and I don’t want to miss my senior year. When I started at Stillwater, I had every intention of finishing, and my win in the Western did nothing to change that. It is strictly my own decision. Neither my parents nor my coach tried to influence me one way or the other.”

Verplank tied for first in the NCAA as a freshman in 1983 at he San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno but lost in a playoff to Jim Carter of Arizona State. The Cowboys won the team title, however, and Verplank proudly wears the championship ring.

“Right now, my plan is to turn pro right after the NCAA but it all depends on my the status of my exemption in the U.S. Open,” he said. “I’m already in as an amateur but if I have to qualify to play as a professional, I’ll remain an amateur one more week before turning pro. I’d rather play as an amateur than take a chance on not playing at all.”

Last year, as the 1984 U.S. Amateur champion, Verplank finished 34th in the Open. He was the low amateur.

Besides qualifying for the Tournament of Champions when he won the Western Open, Verplank is eligible for 10 tour events this year, plus the U.S. Open and Masters. He will skip the remaining California tournaments but will play in the Phoenix Open two weeks from now.

“School starts Monday and I’ll go to class for a week and then play in Phoenix,” he said. “I need it to get in shape for the Masters. I haven’t played in a tournament since the first week in December, so I’m sure I’ll be rusty.

“I’ve been hitting the ball great on the driving range, but when I get out on a course, things don’t seem to be happening the way they should. I don’t know what to expect here this week but I like the course. The way they have the rough, you have to drive the ball in the fairway and the putting is fairly tricky. Those are two things I usually do pretty good so we’ll see what happens.”

Verplank’s stunning victory in the Western was no isolated moment of greatness last year. He played in 26 collegiate tournaments and won 11, tied for first in another, finished second four times and was in the top 10 in 21 of the 26.

He also led the U.S. team to victory in the Walker Cup, in which he won three matches and tied one.

He played 79 rounds of stroke-play competition and averaged 70.55. Don Pooley, who did not win a tournament so is not eligible here, averaged 70.36 to win the Vardon Trophy for the lowest average among the touring pros.

When Scott was a tiny tyke learning the game around Dallas, his hands were so small that he wrapped layers of gauze around the putter grip so he could get a better feel of it. Although he now carries 160 pounds on a 5-foot 9-inch frame, Verplank still uses his gauze grip. It looks like the handle of a baseball bat.

“I don’t know why I still do it,” he said. “It just feels good to me. I put it on at the start of a tournament and it lasts the whole week. It’s like getting a new grip for every tournament.”

Verplank rates his strong points as his short game and his course management. Old-timers, including most of the professionals who have played with him, say that his attitude--an unflappable approach to the game--is remarkable for a 21-year-old collegian.

“The people in Chicago couldn’t believe it when I told them that playing in the Western Open was just another tournament to me and that Butler National was just another course,” Verplank said with a smile. “But that’s the way I try to approach every tournament, whether it’s college, local or on the tour.

“I know I can’t control how Jim Thorpe or Curtis Strange or Jack Nicklaus will do. All I can do is go out and play to 100% of my game and then see what happens.

“That’s what I’ll do this week, although at this point I’m not sure what 100% of my game will be. I won’t be surprised if I play well and I won’t be surprised if I don’t play well. I will play the best I can and if I do well, that will be great. On the other hand, if I finish 31st, that’s the way it will be.”

It will all start for the blond Texan at 11:45 a.m. today when he tees off with Phil Blackmar, another Texan whose most noticeable feature is his size. At 6-7 and 250 pounds, Blackmar is the tour’s biggest player.

Verplank, at 21, is its youngest.