Thursday, April 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Having just turned 60 six weeks ago, Bob Charles is still learning what being a GrandMaster is all about. The added prize money and the tournament-within-a-tournament concept remain relatively new to him.
But based on his reactions Wednesday as he participated in the GrandMasters Pro-Am at the Desert Inn Country Club, Charles is appreciative of the special consideration the PGA Senior Tour extends to its older members.
While others may have complained that there isn't a spot for them to play through their golden years, Charles takes a more practical approach.
"As far as I'm concerned, the tour bends over backwards to try and keep guys out here," he said. "The guys who aren't happy are the guys who are no longer eligible to play out here.
"But, somewhere along the line, you've got to retire, don't you?"
Last winter, a handful of former players were mentioned as candidates to form a 65-and-over tour. The idea -- to be called the Major Champions Tour -- was simply to give the older players a chance to make some money playing against their peers.
Men like Jack Fleck, Tommy Bolt, Paul Runyan, Sam Snead, Art Wall and Doug Ford were mentioned as potential participants. (So was Harold "Jug" McSpaden, who was found dead at his home in Kansas City, Kan., on Monday at the age of 87.)
The idea apparently has fizzled.
Charles, something of a spring chicken at 60, wasn't overly sympathetic.
"The tour does a nice job of letting guys like Gene Littler (65), Billy Casper (64), Miller Barber (65) and Gay Brewer (64) continue to compete," he said.
"The main thrust of the tour, obviously, will always center around the men who are just into their 50s. The older players can always try their luck against the Ray Floyds, but they aren't necessarily that competitive. That's why something like the GrandMasters competition is appropriate for them."
The GrandMasters -- sponsored by MasterCard and formerly known as the Super Seniors sponsored by Vantage -- has $120,000 in prize money at stake this weekend during the Las Vegas Senior Classic. That $120,000 is separate from the $1 million in formal prize money for the tournament that will be held at the TPC at Summerlin beginning Friday.
The GrandMasters prize money will be distributed among the 60-and-older sect based on how they perform during the first two rounds of the Senior Classic. (Wednesday's pro-am at the D.I. did not count toward that prize-money distribution.)
"I think the subject of taking care of the older players was addressed and refined with the GrandMasters program," Senior Classic manager Charlie Baron said. "At $120,000, they've really pumped up the prize money for those guys."
And a leading candidate to capture the $18,000 GrandMasters first prize is Charles, whose game is sharp enough that he also has to be considered a threat to win the Senior Classic title.
"I feel terrific," he said. "I'd like to be 20 or 30 years younger, but I believe I'm as good or better than I was at 30. I know I'm just as strong. What I've lost is in flexibility, but that's a problem for all old guys, isn't it?"
Charles is currently 20th on the Senior Tour money list with $143,413 in eight events. Last weekend at the Seniors' Championship in Florida he placed 15th and earned $14,750.
Arguably the greatest left-handed player in the history of the sport, the New Zealand native and resident also is the biggest money winner in the history of the Las Vegas Senior Classic.
In nine previous tournaments -- he missed 1994 -- he has finished lower than 11th only once and has accumulated $208,154 in earnings. With two seconds, three thirds and two fourths, he has averaged $23,128 every time he has played in Las Vegas in the past decade.
"I've enjoyed a lot of success here without actually winning," he said.
But he has won 22 times on the Senior Tour and has 46 victories worldwide in a professional career that dates to 1954. The highlight was a British Open championship in 1963.
"I'd like to be playing a little better, but I'm not doing too bad," Charles said of his recent play. "One thing I've noticed, though, is that when I was playing real well I might have three bogeys for 54 holes. Now I'll have three bogeys a round."
That admission was his only concession to old age.
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