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Bernhard Langer goes out of his
way to promote the Toshiba Classic
Auszug aus der Kolumne von Randy
Youngman (The Orange County Register) vom Mittwoch, 28. Januar
2009
Langer model champion for model tournament
Youngman column: The Champions Tour Player of the Year goes out
of his way to promote the Toshiba Classic
NEWPORT BEACH ? Hours after winning the Champions Tour's
season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Sunday in
Hawaii, a jubilant Bernhard Langer got on a late-night flight
and headed for home in Boca Raton, Fla.
To break up the 5,000-mile trip, he scheduled one layover ? a
long one. A bleary-eyed Langer stopped in Orange County on
Monday afternoon to promote the 2009 Toshiba Classic at Newport
Beach Country Club, where he will defend his title in early
March. A lot of pros with busy schedules likely would have
conducted the media interview by phone, but Langer takes his
responsibilities seriously as the 50-and-over tour's reigning
Player of the Year.
"I was going to get on an airplane, anyway, to go to Florida,"
he said, trying to downplay going so far out of his way to make
a personal appearance at Newport Beach Country Club, where he
won his first career Champions event in 2008. "It's two red-eye
flights instead of one."
Just glad to help the cause, Langer implicitly was saying. He
didn't even mention that he had stopped here on his way to
belatedly celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife,
Vikki, who had stayed in Florida to take care of their four
children while he was working five time zones away.
To say that Langer is a dream for tournament directors and
sponsors is an understatement. He said it's important for him
and his fellow pros to do whatever it takes to support the tour,
especially during these troubled times, when events on all of
the professional tours are losing sponsors.
"We understand the economy is not that good right now, and we
want this tour to continue," said the German-born Langer, winner
of more than 80 professional tournaments worldwide, including
the 1985 and 1993 Masters, and a 2002 inductee in the World Golf
Hall of Fame. "We're all over 50, so we're not just golfers;
we're businessmen. We know it's important to do whatever we can
(for sponsors and fans). ? It's what sets the Champions Tour
apart from the PGA Tour. We talk about it all the time."
And it's especially refreshing when such talk leads to action,
fan-friendly policies and programs on and off the course, as
well as meaningful charitable contributions in the communities
where the Champions Tour makes its stops. In the 11 years in
which Hoag Hospital Foundation has been its lead charity and
event organizer, the Toshiba Classic has raised more than $11
million for more than 20 local charities.
"It's the most philanthropic event in Champions Tour history,"
said Bill Oakley, director of tournament business affairs for
the Champions Tour, who made the trip from tour headquarters in
Florida this week, essentially meeting Langer halfway. "It is
our model tournament."
Goes well with a model champion
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Outside the Ropes Video
Name: Bernhard Langer Geburtsdatum: 27.08.1957
Geburtsort: Anhausen, Deutschland
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