Colbert Still Recovering From Cancer

After Jim Colbert had surgery for prostate cancer 14 months ago, his doctors told him it would take a year for him to recover fully, but Colbert thought it would be much sooner. They were right, he was wrong.

It has been a long way back for Colbert, 56, who is reminded daily that he is one of the fortunate ones whose prostate cancer was detected in its early stages.

“You really do need to catch this baby early,” he said.

That’s what Colbert did and now he seems to be showing signs he can compete for titles again on the Senior PGA Tour. In his last seven tournaments, Colbert has six top-10 finishes and he believes he knows why.

“I’ve got my strength back,” he said. “About two months ago, I noticed I wasn’t getting tired toward the end of tournaments. So my endurance is better, and I’m playing better.”

Four months after his surgery, Colbert played the Ralphs Senior Classic at Wilshire, where he shot a 65 on Saturday and moved into contention. But Gil Morgan made sure it didn’t last long.

“He ran over me like a freight train on Sunday,” Colbert said. “That’s when I noticed the endurance thing. Boy, when that adrenaline left, I almost couldn’t put one foot in front of the other to get back to the clubhouse.”

During that round of 65 at Wilshire, Colbert saw Arnold Palmer briefly and Palmer advised him to ride a cart for a while. Palmer had prostate surgery months before. Colbert chose not to ride, though.

“I probably should have,” Colbert said. “I thought I was too smart to do that. But Arnold never rides, so for him to tell me that really meant something.”

On Monday, Palmer began a seven-week series of radiation after tests revealed his prostate cancer had become active again. Palmer will be sidelined during the treatments. Colbert said he had known about the recurrence.

“He told me three months ago that his [blood] count was going back up. But he shouldn’t have any backlash. When he told me I was concerned, so I told my doctor. Now he doesn’t have Arnold’s records, but he believes Arnold has a good chance of catching it right there.”

Colbert has become a spokesman for prostate cancer awareness, donating money from pledges for birdies he makes to the Senior PGA Tour for the Cure program, which many of his peers support with their own pledge programs.

He’s also a spokesman for another prostate cancer awareness program, called CAPcure, which is the beneficiary of a $1-million hole-in-one shootout at Los Alamitos from Sept. 21-26. For a donation of $1, anyone can try to make a hole in one and have a chance to win $1 million.

Colbert said men over 40 should get a PSA blood test to check for any prostate problems.

“There’s no cure for prostate cancer,” he said. “But if they catch it early, they can get it.”

RACE IS ON, PART I

Did anybody say $3 million? With $2,251,750 million so far this year, Hale Irwin has a legitimate shot at becoming the first player to win $3 million in a year.

Irwin has averaged about $96,000 per tournament in his 2 1/2 years on the senior tour and needs to average about $107,000 in the seven tournaments he has left.

Irwin hasn’t finished out of the top five in 16 tournaments this year and he has won six times.

RACE IS ON, PART II

If anyone is getting weary that the senior tour has become a bit two-sided between Irwin and Morgan, at least they’re going to settle the issue the right way.

Yes, they’re going to race for it. When Irwin and Morgan show up to play the Comfort Classic this month in Indianapolis, they’re going to climb into race cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and floor it against each other.

If the ending is going to be good, imagine the start: ‘Gentlemen, start your L wedges.’

HOW SWEDE IT IS

No one can say that European Solheim Cup captain Pia Nilsson of Sweden has turned her back on her country. They should play the thing in Stockholm.

Needing five captain’s picks to fill out the team that will play the U.S. at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, Sept. 18-20, Nilsson picked four Swedes--Liselotte Neumann, Catrin Nilsmark, Charlotta Sorenstam and Sophie Gustafson.

Because Helen Alfredsson and Charlotta’s sister, Annika, played their way onto the team, that makes six Swedes on the 12-player team.

Judy Rankin is the captain of the veteran U.S. team that won two years ago in Wales. Only Pat Hurst and Chris Johnson haven’t played in the Solheim Cup. The rest of the U.S. team is Kelly Robbins, Donna Andrews, Dottie Pepper, Meg Mallon, Brandie Burton, Tammie Green, Julie Inkster, Betsy King and captain’s picks Rosie Jones and Sherri Steinhauer.

THE PRICE OF VICTORY

So just what was David Duval’s victory at the World Series of Golf worth--besides the $405,000 first-place check, of course?

It meant that he has joined eight other players who won at least three titles in back-to-back years on the PGA Tour since 1960.

The others are Jack Nicklaus, Palmer, Billy Casper, Ray Floyd, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller and Nick Price.

REMEMBER THAT GUY?

Duval’s three victories are the most on the PGA Tour this year and the most since . . . Tiger Woods won four times last year.

Woods is taking what his agent, Hughes Norton, terms “an extended break,” which is basically what you call it when he’s probably not going to play another PGA Tour event until the Walt Disney World Classic, Oct. 22-25.

Woods hasn’t officially entered, but because it’s in Orlando and the week before the Tour Championship, he’s probably going to play it.

Then again, maybe he won’t because he’s playing in Europe the two weeks before the Disney--with John Daly and Mark O’Meara in the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews on Oct. 8-11 and in the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, on Oct. 15-18.

So far, Woods’ year has been consistent, but major-less: 12 top 10s in 18 tournaments, one victory and $1.7 million in prize money.

CHANNEL SURFING WIPEOUT

If the World Series of Golf is such an important event and next year will be worth

$5 million, boast a superior international field and have a new name (the NEC Invitational), does that mean the third round is going to be televised in Los Angeles?

It didn’t happen Saturday. The nation’s second-biggest TV market missed golf on Channel 2 in favor of the Oakland Raiders playing the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL exhibition game. The golf was shown on Channel 8 in San Diego, where the Raiders must not be such a big deal.

Jim Griffel, the PGA Tour’s director of broadcasting, said the tour’s television contract with CBS allows network affiliates to preempt golf programming when they wish.

ABS-SOLUTELY

How many sit-ups does 62-year-old Gary Player do every day? Would you believe 1,000?