Senior Classic to Be One Week Earlier

The Toshiba Senior Classic is moving up a week this year and will start at Newport Beach Country Club on Feb. 28. The 54-hole tournament is March 3-5.

Gary McCord is expected to be back to defend his title and surely will bring up the matter of the crystal trophy he received for winning the 1999 event.

McCord had gone roughly 375 events on the PGA and Senior PGA tours without a victory before beating John Jacobs, Allen Doyle and Al Geiberger in a playoff.

When his trophy arrived at his Arizona home, it had broken into several pieces. The trophy was quickly replaced and Toshiba also kicked in a notebook computer for McCord, who is 16th on the tour money list with $506,823 this year.

The Toshiba event also announced its final charity totals. The tournament raised a record $828,500, with $750,000 going to Hoag Hospital Presbyterian.