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In one of his last competitive events on the PGA Tour, Billy Casper was paired with a very young David Toms. It was the 1996 Doral-Ryder Open, the same tournament that Casper had won twice, including the inaugural event in 1962. But it had been 21 years since Casper had won on the tour, and nearly seven years since he'd made his last cut. So Toms might be forgiven for not knowing the full scope of the story behind the man he was playing with. "When we got up to first tee I was introduced as the winner of 51 PGA Tour events," Casper said. "[Toms'] eyes got big and he asked me how many were on the regular tour. I said every one of them." Casper's 51 wins rank seventh all-time, trailing luminous names such as Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods. He ranks ahead of legends such as Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Lee Trevino and has twice as many wins as Raymond Floyd, Gary Player and Hale Irwin. He won two U.S. Opens and a Masters, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. He's also won nine times on the Champions Tour, including the 1983 U.S. Senior Open. Yet, when talk turns to the big dogs in Casper's day, it invariably focuses on the so-called Big Three: Palmer, Nicklaus and Player. Compare Casper's stats to anyone else's during that time and some interesting facts emerge. Only Palmer won more events than Casper during the 1960s (40 to 33). Nicklaus won 30, Player a relatively scant 10. True, Nicklaus joined the tour in 1962, and Player's main focus was international events, of which he won 23, but Casper's success is indisputable. Add his nine Champions Tour wins, eight Ryder Cup appearances (he's won more points, 23.5, than any other American player), his five Vardon Trophies and his two PGA Player of the Year titles, and his success is astounding. So why isn't the San Diego native's face inscribed on golf's metaphorical Mt. Rushmore? The conventional theory is majors: Casper won three, while Nicklaus posted 18. Player has nine and Palmer seven. But, according to Casper, his status in the popular imagination had less to do with on-course actions than off-course decisions. At one point in the 1960s, he was part of a sports agency run by Mark McCormack. Casper opted to leave that agency for a splinter organization. That organization didn't do so well, while McCormack's went on to become the most powerful sports marketing force in the world: IMG. And who were IMG's main golfing clients? Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. That little-publicized fact is merely one of the many anecdotes, revelations and opinions shared by Casper during an hour-long interview last month at Alta Vista Country Club, a Placentia facility that Casper's golf management company, Billy Casper Golf, began managing two years ago. "I visit a few properties each year, but what I do mostly is lend my reputation through my name," said Casper, whose company manages 65 courses nationwide, including four in Southern California. "But I get reports about the company all the time from golfers. I was in Augusta last year and a couple came up to me and said they'd been at one of the properties in Hawaii and how great they were treated and what a wonderful time they had. I hear that a lot. So we must be doing something right." During his Alta Vista visit, Casper was gracious, captivating, charming and not afraid to express his opinions. But regardless of whether he was addressing the approximately 75 members and guests who listened attentively to his every word, or talking to a reporter in the club's private Masters room, Casper seemed filled with energy and good cheer. And with good reason. As he told the assembled group, golf has allowed him to visit nearly 50 countries and play rounds of golf with world leaders ranging from Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford to the king of Morocco to Ferdinand Marcos. "I never would have dreamed when I hit my first golf ball of doing the things I have done in my life," Casper said. "And it's been all because of golf." He and his wife of more than 50 years, Shirley, have raised 11 children, five of whom were adopted. At last count, he has 30 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. And a lifetime of rich golf memories. n |
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