GOLF / DAN HAFNER : She’s Having a Difficult Time Keeping Up

Life is really pretty easy on the professional golf tours, especially on the Senior PGA Tour.

For the most part, the golfers have to play only three rounds in a tournament, they are met at the airport, they get a fancy car to drive, they stay at nice hotels and there is plenty of money to be made.

That’s the way it is for last year’s player of the year, Dave Stockton. His life, compared to his wife Cathy’s, is easy.

She spends more time reading airline schedules than an avid reader does a newspaper.

Cathy Stockton has her husband on the senior tour. One son, David, 25, is on the regular PGA Tour. Another son, Ron, 23, plays on the University of Redlands golf team. Trying to keep tabs on all three has Cathy flying in circles.

By the time their sons or daughters are old enough for anything beyond Little League or Pop Warner, most sports fathers are no longer competing. Not so in golf. In fact, Dave Stockton’s career is peaking just as his sons are beginning.

“I try to lend moral support for all my men,” Cathy said. “Trying to figure it all out has become difficult since David made it through qualifying school last fall. That changed everything.”

The best week so far was at the AT&T; at Pebble Beach. The whole family was there and in the same foursome. Cathy, a pretty good golfer herself, was Ron’s caddie.

“If they could all be like that it would be perfect,” she said. “It was the first time for me to be inside the ropes. I enjoyed it.”

This year she has attended three senior events, including the Tradition this week, all four regular tour events in California and the Division III NCAA tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Ron finished fourth.

“It isn’t really a change in my life,” Cathy said, “it’s just more hectic. The boys were out on the road with us since they were 3 weeks old. When they became school age, we found a wonderful woman who took care of them when I joined Dave on tour. Dave and I tried to make sure we never were apart more than two weeks at a time.”

The boys were exposed to all sports and each summer they joined their parents on the road. They seemed to love it. By the time David was 14 he knew he wanted to be a professional golfer.

“We exposed them, but never pushed them,” Cathy said. “David was still at USC when he said he wanted to turn pro. We held a family meeting and decided that was the right move. That’s when life started to get hectic.

“It’s always been tough following Dave around and suffering when he had problems, but the regular tour is something else now.

“When David first went to qualifying school, it was a revelation. There were all those older men, married and with kids, still trying to qualify. To me it was amazing that David made it on the fourth try last fall.

“I guess I’m lucky that I love golf, because it is really tough on the regular tour. Fortunately, David made the cut in all the California tournaments except the Hope. But the pressure there is terrible.

“It really felt good to get back to the Senior tour here at the Tradition. For one thing, there’s no cut. Also, it’s a more relaxed atmosphere.”

This week, with Ron serving as caddie for Dave because it’s spring break, only David is on his own, in New Orleans, where he missed the cut.

“I never knew there would be a year like this,” Cathy said. “For a family that’s always done things together, it sometimes gets difficult. For the rest of the year, I’ll mostly join David for Thursday and Friday rounds. If he misses the cut and it’s possible, I will rush to the senior tour. Sometimes, even if he makes the cut, I’ll join Dave. I’ll also have to find time for Ron’s college events. It would be easier, if like Ray Floyd, Dave was able to play on both tours.”

Cathy, who is from Redlands, near the family’s present home in Mentone, and Dave met in 1964 on a blind date.

“Dave was still at USC and he lived in San Bernardino,” Cathy said. “Our parents knew each other and that’s why the first date. A month later I was pinned. We already knew we wanted to marry. It’s been a wonderful life, but lately I haven’t found much time to get any work done at home.”

Last week, Dave needed some fishing time and had to go to Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, the club he represents. While there he broke the club record with a 67. The record he broke was David’s 69. Then Dave and Cathy went fishing.

“Doing things together is an idea we had from the start,” Cathy said. “We always hunted, fished and golfed together. I caught some fish, too.”

Golf Notes

St. John’s Episcopal School will hold its annual golf fund-raiser at Dove Canyon Country Club on April 18. Information: 714-222-3041. . . . The fifth annual Serra Golf Classic, a fund-raiser for Serra Retreat, will be held at Calabasas Golf and Country Club. Details: 818-788-0709.