Tournament of Champions Seniors : Palmer Takes Ribbing, and Barber Takes Lead

Aside from the age factor, just about the most obvious difference between the 2 PGA tours is the attitude.

The regular Tour players, facing intense competition to make a living, are deadly serious. The Seniors, given a reprieve when it appeared their careers were over, are relaxed. The Senior could be renamed the Fun Tour.

After Arnold Palmer’s outburst Friday, when he was penalized 2 strokes for teeing off from the wrong markers, he was the target of the pranksters.

Before hot-shooting Miller Barber shot a 4-under-par 68 and took a 3-shot lead in the third round of the Senior Division of the MONY Tournament of Champions Saturday at La Costa, the laughs were on Palmer.

First, someone slipped a rule book into his locker. Next, Chi Chi Rodriguez put on a woman’s slip at the practice tee. Rodriguez was reacting to Palmer’s declaration that if the 50-and-over players weren’t good enough to use the same tees as the younger pros, they should don skirts and ride in carts.

Palmer and Rodriguez were paired for the third round and drew the largest gallery of all on a day when fans came in large numbers despite cold and later, rainy weather.

Before they left the practice area, Rodriguez told Palmer: “You can use my cart today, I’m following your orders and walking.

“You have to do what the King says, especially if you’re the Clown Prince.”

At the first tee, Rodriguez looked around at the big gallery and said: “Every time Arnie plays with me he gets to play before a big crowd. At the Senior Open, we were paired and out of contention, but we had more marshals than most galleries had fans.”

Palmer seemed to enjoy the banter and the pranks. In fact, when they arrived at the second tee, where Palmer drew the penalty on Friday, he made as if to tee up his ball in the wrong place.

Although they seemed to be enjoying themselves and their fans, they didn’t burn up the course. Rodriguez had a 1-under-par 71 and his 54-hole total of 220 puts him 12 shots behind Barber. Palmer had a 74 and is at 223.

Barber, who had a 67 Friday when conditions were worse, not only leads Bruce Crampton by 3 shots in his own division, but has a better score than any of the much younger players on the regular Tour. Granted, with tees closer on several holes, he is playing a course some 200 yards shorter, but Barber is excited about leading the entire field.

“It would be something to finish with the best score,” he said. “We (the old-timers) could have some fun with that.

“Don’t get me wrong. We don’t play as well as the regular Tour players do. Maybe we did when we were younger, but not now.”

Barber, the only player to qualify for all 6 Senior TPCs, will be 58 in March. He says he must work harder and keep in better shape than ever.

“After 50 you age 5 or 6 years every year,” he said. “At 23 or 24 that’s no concern.”

Barber, at 208, is 8 under and 2 shots ahead of Steve Jones, leader of the regular division. When Barber won in 1986, he shot 282, the senior record.

“I can’t remember when I was hitting the ball any better,” he said. “I shot a 73 Thursday, but from tee to green I played as well as I can. The putts didn’t drop. They have the last 2 rounds.”

When Dale Douglass, who led the first 2 rounds, faded to a 38 on the front side in the third round, it was Crampton who made the first move. After 11 holes he had 5 birdies and was 8 under for the tournament. He was still the leader until he hit a ball in the water at 17 for a bogey and missed his par on 18. When Barber sank a 12-foot putt for a birdie on the last hole, Crampton had lost 3 shots in a hurry.

“Maybe I’m better when it’s windy,” Crampton said. “Yesterday, 16, 17 and 18 were played into a strong wind. It took 12 shots to negotiate them. Today, with no wind, it took 15 shots.

“I’ve been playing this game for 40 years and I’ll never understand it. One minute you’re hitting the ball great, the next minute you’re not.”

Douglass the leader by 3 after the first round, shot a 75 Saturday and is 6 shots behind Barber. The rest of the seniors are 3 shots or more over par.