Press Box Paul Arnett

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The camaraderie of the Champions Tour appeals to Cook

When John Cook joined the PGA Tour in 1979 Lee Trevino had already won five major championships, Tom Watson would win five more over the next five years, and Greg Norman and Nick Faldo hadn't won a thing.

Champions Tour Player Score To par Troy Matteson 65 -7 Brad Adamonis 66 -6 Tiger Woods 67 -5 Rory Sabbatini 67 -5 Stuart Appleby 67 -5 Kevin Streelman 67 -5

Asked by Jack Nicklaus to play golf at Ohio State, Cook was something of a prodigy. His father, Jim, was a longtime tournament director on the PGA Tour. His dad's stops included Las Vegas, where he attracted the big names of the 1980s -- including Norman -- by offering a total purse close to $1 million. That was unheard of some 27 years ago when Cook won the 1981 Bing Crosby, his first of 11 tour victories.

As dominant as Watson was, Ben Crenshaw won the 1984 Masters. The year Cook injured his wrist, Curtis Strange took home the 1989 U.S. Open and hasn't won a thing since. Standing right over there is Tom Kite and just off the putting green are Bernhard Langer and Loren Roberts and Fred Funk. For Cook, it's good to see these guys again.

It's been awhile since he hung out with them. Oh, he might see one or two guys at this PGA Tour event, maybe two or three more at another during the year, but he couldn't remember the last time they were all playing in the same tournament together.

And that brought a smile to his face on this early Wednesday afternoon at the Turtle Bay Resort. The camaraderie that had gone missing his last half-decade on the PGA was suddenly right in front of him again, this week and last.

It's kind of a class reunion atmosphere where everybody welcomes you to the "retirement" party. Now, the fun really begins, son, as they clap you on the shoulder and say, "You finally made it. Good to have you here."

Life after 50 is filled with familiar sights and sounds. There's this guy's family and what about his kids, and oh, did you hear?; such 'n' such's boy graduated first in his class. There's a lot of proud papas struttin' around on the course, more than a few granddads and grandmas to go around as well.

Many of these guys started playing against one another when they were kids in junior golf, 35-40 years ago. We're talking about a generation of gentlemen who set the stage for so many who have followed. Now you can count Cook among them, throw Jeff Sluman in there somewhere, and be ready to welcome Hal Sutton in April, just so he can go along for the ride.

"It's a lot different out here," said Cook, who has left the big boys behind to be with old friends and foes, instead. "The camaraderie is a lot different. I've been around these guys for most of my life and it's good to see them and their families again. It's like going home."

That's exactly what it's like. Going home to watch Watson chip in from off the 17th green at Pebble Peach to win the 1982 U.S. Open or remember Hale Irwin doing his victory lap at the 1990 U.S. Open or being around to see Kite capture the 1992 U.S. Open, his only major championship.

If you come out to Turtle Bay this weekend to see the first full-field event on the Champions Tour, you'll know exactly how Cook feels. You'll experience it, too, and remember those tournaments nearly three decades ago when Cook first came on board and pocketed $43,316 in 1980, his first full year on tour, to finish 80th on the money list.

There's still time to see the senior set as they tour the Arnold Palmer-designed course for a first-place prize of $240,000 at this weekend's Turtle Bay Championship. And to take a trip down one memory lane after another, designed to bring you home to a simpler place and time.

Cook knows all about it now and he's smiling every step of the way.