THE GTE SENIORS TOURNAMENT : Bayer Bones : As George Bayer Enters Twilight Years on Senior Golf Tour, It’s a Struggle to Keep His Health and Game Up to Par

Lost somewhere in the hubbub created on the PGA Seniors Tour by big-name golfers/businessmen like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Billy Casper and Chi Chi Rodriguez are players like Big George Bayer.

Remember him?

He won the 1958 Havana invitational.

He won the 1958 Mayfair Inn Open.

And he won the 1960 St. Petersburg Open.

All told, he reeled in four PGA Tour titles, including the Canadian Open in 1957. He also finished first in the Masters driving contest two years in a row.

That pretty much wraps up Bayer’s career highlights. And that explains why car-rental companies and investment conglomerates aren’t breaking his door down with offers to represent them.

But Bayer does represent a group of old-timers on the seniors tour who aren’t on the Forbes 400 list--his career earnings on the PGA Tour totaled $188,868--and are battling age and ailments to keep their golf careers and themselves alive and under par.

“There’s no doubt that this is work, when you’re out there at our age,” said Bayer, who is 61 and has two grandchildren. “The traveling is especially hard. When you get older, you lose more patience for all the traveling.”

Not to mention shanked drives and double bogeys. After shooting 78 in Friday’s opening round of the GTE Seniors tournament at Wood Ranch in Simi Valley, Bayer hoisted a cold beer, shook his head and, basically, looked bushed. And he cursed those damn youngsters on the tour--the 50-year-olds.

“The guys in their 60s can’t compete anymore,” he said. “I’ll probably quit after next year. After this year, I’ll try to stay active, but I won’t play as much.”

Bayer played in 26 tournaments a year ago, but had no top 10 finishes. The best he could manage was a tie for 22nd place. He finished 56th on the Seniors money list by earning $24,179--a mere $430,000 less than youngster Bruce Crampton, 51, the top money-winner in 1986.

In six years since joining the Seniors Tour, Bayer has averaged about $30,000. He underwent artificial-hip implant surgery between the 1982 and 1983 seasons and since has walked with a slight limp.

“Geez, I had a bad year last year,” he said. “My hip is fine. Everything else is falling apart, but my hip is fine. You start talking injuries with this group, though, and you’ll never hear the end of it. All of us talk about our ailments--bad backs, bad knees, bad hands, bad joints, bad everything.”

Bayer’s bad knees may be the baddest on tour. That he ever played golf professionally is a quirk of fate. His real game was football. During the late 1940s, Bayer (6-5, 230 pounds) was an All-American tackle and end at Washington before signing an NFL contract with the Washington Redskins in 1950. But he lasted less than a year in pro football.

In 1951, he concentrated on golf. Two years later, he was paired with Bob Hope at a course near Lake Tahoe. When Hope saw how far Bayer could drive the ball, he couldn’t believe it. Later, the comedian invited him to Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank and when Bayer flew his second shot over the green on the fourth hole, a 575-yard par-5, Hope invited him to play at the National Celebrities Tournament in Washington.

Bayer turned professional in 1954 and joined the PGA Tour the following year.

After 10 years on tour, he worked as a golf pro at clubs in Tahoe and Detroit until the Seniors Tour was formed in 1980.

Since then, Bayer has re-established himself as a long hitter among the old-timers. “I can still get it out there,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone out here who hits it farther.”

His problem is hitting it in the hole. During the first round of the GTE tournament on Wood Ranch’s sloping greens, his putting deserted him in front of a practically non-existent gallery. The fans deserted Bayer and his group, which included Bob Rosburg and Tommy Jacobs. They were all over on the other side of the course, following Palmer, Player and Rodriguez.

“Those guys have the same problems the rest of us do,” Bayer said. “They’re trying to do what they did when they were young. They’re just trying to make a good showing.”

And while everyone is watching them, Big George Bayer almost anonymously will go on killing 300-yard drives, cursing his putter, his bad knees and those damned 50-year-old kids.