Flying now big concern for pro golfers

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

Even before terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, PGA Tour player Steve Flesch wasn't particularly fond of flying.

Now, his feelings have intensified.

"I know my wife's really concerned about flying and I am too," Flesch said. "With the added security, it's kind of like a new fear being thrown out there in front of you.

"But I have to do it because of the living that I've chosen. So that's that."

Flesch was one of many players practicing on the driving range at the TPC at Summerlin in preparation for the $4.5 million Invensys Classic that starts Wednesday and concludes Sunday.

The tournament, being played at the TPC at Summerlin, TPC at the Canyons and Southern Highlands, is one of the last regular season events of the year.

Flesch and his wife, Lisa, flew on a commercial airline to Las Vegas from their hometown of Cincinnati without incident.

Because Flesch, who has finished in the top 10 five times this year and is 50th on the PGA Tour's money list at $964,902, only makes one trip to Europe every year to play in the British Open, he doesn't plan to alter his travel plans.

Since the terrorist attacks, some players actually have felt safer about flying because of the increased security measures being implemented at every airport in the country.

"It's just taken longer, which doesn't bother me," Flesch said. "I think security should have been like this years ago.

"I've traveled abroad to Europe and Asia where their security is a lot more extensive than ours. I think Sept. 11 just kind of opened our eyes a little bit."

Veteran Joe Ogilvie agrees.

"You feel like the pilot and everybody else is going to do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe," said Ogilvie, who tied a first-round scoring record by shooting a 9-under-par 63 at the TPC at Summerlin in 1999. "So when I'm on a plane, I'm not nervous."

Tom Pernice Jr. echoed Ogilvie's sentiments about feeling safer than ever and said his travel plans weren't affected in any way since Sept. 11.

"I have no fear of flying," Pernice Jr. said. "To me, it's the safest time and easiest time I've ever flown.

"No one's flying. Flights are half-full. There's a little bit of wait going through security, but nothing unusual."

Like tennis players, who fly all over the world to tournaments, golfers log more air miles than most professional athletes.

Las Vegan Robert Gamez was on the road for seven consecutive weeks before returning home late Sunday night from last week's PGA Tour stop in Virginia.

After the events of Sept. 11, he began chartering flights with Greg Kraft and other PGA Tour players, a move he said he had pondered before the attacks.

"When that happened I just said if I don't have to fly commercial, I'm not going to do it," Gamez said. "You know, when a first class ticket is about $1,200 anyways, you might as well fly a little bit nicer and be a little more comfortable.

"It's the way to go. I've actually played better since I've done it. I'm less tired. I've had one commercial trip since then, from Montreal to Tampa, and I almost missed my connection in Detroit, I was running through the airport. I've had 12 years of that and it's about time not to do it anymore."

Gamez said the roughly $15,000 in air travel he has spent so far has been worth it because he doesn't have to wait in long security lines and he doesn't have to lug his luggage through the airport because he can drive right to his plane.

Similarly, Mark O'Meara, a former Masters and British Open champion, is part-owner of his own jet.

"For me, that's the perks of playing for a long time out here," O'Meara said. "In winding down my career, I kind of treated myself to the fact that once in a while I'll fly commercially, but more often than not I'll fly privately."