Same Old Swing, New Game : Golf: Out of the limelight for years because of injury and a new career building courses, Tom Weiskopf will make his debut on the senior tour at Ojai.

It seems that every year an outstanding golfer turns 50 and joins the Senior PGA Tour.

Now, along comes Tom Weiskopf, a star of the 1970s who didn’t quite live up to expectations, but who still won 15 PGA tournaments and the 1973 British Open.

Weiskopf, absent from professional golf in recent years because of injuries and a booming business in golf course architecture, plays in his first senior tour event in the GTE West Classic at Ojai starting today.

Weiskopf, who turned 50 in November, made an auspicious debut last weekend with a medalist performance at the Chrysler Cup, a non-tour senior team event. He shot rounds of 66, 67 and 69 and won by four shots in leading the U.S. team over an international team. Off that performance, he looms as one of the favorites at Ojai.

Knee surgery the second week in December prevented the former Ohio State player from entering late-season senior events.

The knee problem occurred when Weiskopf, once considered the chief challenger to Jack Nicklaus, returned to the regular tour last year. He was trying to get ready for the seniors.

After spending most of the last decade on the sidelines and not even swinging a club for two years, Weiskopf started getting serious about a year ago.

“Largely because I have enjoyed the building side of golf courses, I wasn’t overly excited about joining the seniors,” he said recently. “(But) I knew I wanted to play with old friends, and I also knew it was a way to pay back the game that did so much for me.

“I had no desire to come back without being able to compete. So I started working on my game and began playing in tournaments again. I did pretty well, too, especially here in the (1992) L.A. Open when I started with a 67. I proved to myself I could still play the game.

“I played about 10 tournaments and was overwhelmed by the amount of talent out there. I started having knee trouble about that time, and by the British Open, I was really dragging. It was decided I had to have surgery to repair ligaments and cartilage.

“It was six weeks before I could swing a club, but I’m feeling good again.”

Many have been excited about joining the senior tour. Lee Trevino, for example, spent a year getting ready for it. Nicklaus, believing he could still win on the regular tour, was not so excited, although he saw an opportunity to be the first to win on both major men’s tours in the same year. Raymond Floyd beat him to it last year.

Weiskopf falls somewhere between Trevino and Nicklaus. Weiskopf will not devote all his time to the tour, as Trevino has, but plans to play more than Nicklaus, who usually plays only four or five senior tournaments.

“The senior tour will be my hobby,” Weiskopf said. “I will play at least 10 tournaments and probably 15 or 16. But don’t let that fool you. When I do play, I’ll be ready. I won’t play enough to win the money title, but I wouldn’t be going out there at all if I didn’t think I could win some tournaments. Building golf courses with my partner, Jay Morrish, will still be my business, but I will have plenty of time to practice and prepare for tournaments.”

His first tournament is on a course that Morrish remodeled several years ago. The Ojai Valley Inn & Country Club is one of the most picturesque and popular on the senior tour.

“But I didn’t have anything to do with redoing it,” Weiskopf said. “In fact, I’ve never played the course. I’ve heard raves about it, and I’m looking forward to it.

“But that’s going to be one of my problems. I don’t know the courses. Most of them I have never played.

“Another is wondering if I will regain my competitive spirit. If I do, I can play with these old friends. When I left the tour in 1984, I did it because I was bored. I wanted more in my life than just playing golf. I found it in golf course architecture. It has been my life for 10 years.

“I really believe, though, the spirit is there. I won’t be playing for money. I’ll be out there to give something back--to contribute to charities the seniors support. I owe everything to golf, and this is my chance to help the sport.

“The people who did so much to get the senior tour going are the people I want to help. Of course, I want to win, too. They used to say I had a picture swing. I still do, and I’m looking forward to the response from the crowd when I make a good shot.”

Weiskopf’s best year was 1973, when he won five tournaments within an eight-week period, including the British and Canadian opens. He was No. 3 on the money list and named golfer of the year by several groups.

Among the old friends he will play against at Ojai are Arnold Palmer, Bruce Crampton, Gary Player, Jim Colbert, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Al Geiberger. Player will be starting his 40th season as a professional golfer.