There will be a Hardee`s Golf Classic in 1988.
Bill Prather, Hardee`s chief executive officer, gave tournament officials the good word this week. Contracts haven`t been signed and there is still some negotiating to be done, but Hardee`s is in. There is even some talk of a three-year deal.
”We`ve been asking for a three-year deal, and Jim Jensen (Hardee`s regional manager) is now more receptive to a three-year contract,” said tournament chairman Jim Epperly. ”Hardee`s has been concerned that a three-year contract would make everyone more complacent, but I don`t think that would happen. A three-year deal would just help us plan ahead.”
The tournament has come a long way since 1983, when it had a $140,000 debt. Hardee`s came in last year and increased the purse $100,000, to $400,000. This year the pros are playing for $500,000 and the full field included two-time U.S. Open champions Andy North and Hale Irwin, Mark McCumber, Calvin Peete, John Mahaffey and Kenny Knox. There were record crowds each day, with Sunday`s final day drawing more than 20,000.
Tournament director Tom Lenz is leaving to join the Honda Classic. The tournament committee will start looking over the 30 applications it has received this week.
”We`re going to miss Tom,” Epperly said, ”but we think we have some good resumes. Tom did a great job, but he had to do what he thought was best for his family, and Honda means more money for him.”
The Hardee`s Golf Classic was part of the road to recovery for several participants. Gil Morgan is on the comeback trail after rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder. . . . Bert Yancey is also back on tour again. Yancy, first diagnosed as a manic depressive in 1975, had to leave the tour because of mental illness in 1976. He is on a new medication and is looking forward to a career on the PGA Senior Tour. He`ll be eligible for it when he reaches his 50th birthday in August, 1988. . . . Jim Nelford, who missed all of 1986 because of serious injuries received in a boating accident, is back on tour. Nelford`s right arm was broken in nine places. Doctors needed a plate and 13 screws to put the arm back together.
David Ogrin wasn`t happy with his finish, but Hardee`s was the fifth consecutive tournament he survived the cut, a career first.
”You play in streaks and have slumps and rallies,” said Ogrin, who finished with a 75 and a 287 total. ”I happen to be rallying. If anything, it tells you not to panic.”
Lemont`s Rick Dalpos finished with a triple bogey on 18 Sunday for a 72. Dalpos went out in 3-under 32 but finished with a 40 for a total of 284.
”I just can`t play the last six or seven holes,” Dalpos said. ”I play the first 11-12 good then I screw up the last six or seven. I don`t know why. They are no different than the others.”
Barrington`s Gary Hallberg shot 68 for a 279 total. It was so hot at Oakwood Club that Hallberg abandoned his trademark hat for a baseball cap. Hallberg thinks his game is starting to come around again after a minislump in early summer.
”I`m playing all right,” he said. ”Today was just a good round. I have to keep working and stay patient.”
