By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Donny Alston doesn't mind the stares. He welcomes them. Alston will tee it up Friday as an amateur at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz, and he'll be the only player with a prosthetic limb. Alston, 48, lost most of his left leg during a special operations mission with the Army in 1985. He has volunteered at the tournament for several years, and last year he worked for tournament broadcaster NBC on the 17th hole. He chatted with several pros during the week and Outback CEO Chris Sullivan. Alston was prepared to be an honorary observer Sunday, but the round was rained out. As he was leaving, Sullivan stopped him.
"He turns around and says, 'Oh, by the way, we want you to play in the golf tournament next year,' " said Alston, who lives in Tampa. "I'm looking around thinking, 'Did he really say that?' But he really did, and here I am."
Alston's $12,000 amateur fee was picked up by sponsors. He will play 36 holes Friday and Saturday, and 18 more Sunday if his team is in the top 16 after the first two rounds. That he is playing at all is a major feat. Alston was in a deep depression after his injury.
"I didn't want to have anything to do with anybody," Alston said. "I spent four months in my apartment with the lights turned off. I was actually trying to work up the (guts) to kill myself. And if I had any (guts), I'd be dead right now. I sat there every day with my gun in my lap hoping I'd work up the nerve to shoot myself."
Alston's mom showed up at his apartment several times pleading with him to get better. Finally, she asked him to go to the driving range with her. He didn't have a prosthesis, but he took a few swings on one leg before making contact.
"That's all it took," Alston said. "She saved my life that day."
Since then he has tried several prosthetics, trying to get a good fit. He got back on the golf course and got down to a 4 handicap. He plays mostly at Fox Hollow in Trinity. A left-hander, Alston can drive it 250 to 270 yards.
He has talked to hundreds of other people who have lost limbs and felt depressed. "I've made it my mission to help people who have these issues," Alston said. "I know how that feels, and I don't want anyone feeling that way."
Alston was forced to take six weeks off recently due to an infection in the upper part of his left leg. He said he is just now starting to feel comfortable, but he wasn't going to miss this tournament for anything.
"Whether I play well or terribly, it doesn't matter," Alston said. "The main thing is I want to finish. If I can do that, then I've done something positive. It will make a difference to somebody."
Settling in
Part-time Dunedin resident Rod Spittle is getting used to life on the Champions Tour. After two years of Monday qualifying, Spittle earned full playing privileges when he won the AT&T Championship in San Antonio, Texas, last year. The Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is his sixth tournament this year, more than he played all last year. Spittle has a tie for second and a tie for sixth, both on Florida courses. "It's been better than we could imagine," Spittle said. "We didn't have a set schedule before. This is a whole lot more fun." Spittle, 55, has a different mind-set now that he is a full-time member of the tour. "There were times during that stretch where you hope your game is good enough to get out here," Spittle said. "Now we're trying to see if it's good enough to stay out here." This week has extra meaning for Spittle. He lives in a condo on Dunedin Country Club, but he plays a lot at TPC Tampa Bay. He hopes his course knowledge will help him. "I split my time between Dunedin and here," Spittle said. "I get to sleep in my own bed. I'm only a half-hour away. You just hope that being familiar with everything pays off by the time you get to Saturday and Sunday."
Jinxed?
Scott Hoch has to wonder if the golf gods are against him. He has not played a tournament round since February 2010 because of a series of bad breaks. During his only tournament of 2010, the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Hoch hit a shot fat on the back nine and felt pain in his left wrist. He finished the tournament and wound up third. He had surgery on the wrist afterward and was out of action. Then, while trying to get back into shape at his beach house in Longboat Key, Hoch was run off the road while riding his bike. He broke his collarbone and was out of action again. Then thumb and back injuries further delayed his return. And just for good measure, Hoch was stung by a stingray while swimming in the gulf last summer. "I got really good at working my DVR," Hoch said. "I started watching way too much TV and enjoyed some fine wines. It cost me a lot of money to get this gut." This week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is Hoch's first tournament in 14 months. His best finish in the Outback at TPC Tampa Bay is a tie for second in 2008, when he missed a 2-footer that would have forced a playoff with Tom Watson. Hoch's expectations this year are low. "It's good to be back," he said, "even though I'm not ready."
Perry makes the transition
Kenny Perry makes his 2011 Champions Tour debut this week at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz. He played in two events in 2010 in his tour debut; he doesn't have a win. Perry, 50, has played in six PGA Tour events this season, making two cuts. Though he has more PGA events on his schedule this year, he plans to increase his Champions Tour presence.
"I'm still going to play Colonial, Memorial, Greenbrier, but pretty much other than that, I plan to play (on the Champions Tour)," he said. "I'm still competitive. I'm still living in the past a little bit, and think I can beat those 20-year-olds."
Perry said his contract with the Transitions Championship lasts one more year, so he will attend the PGA Tour event at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor next year. He wasn't sure about after that. He was sure about the difference between the PGA and Champions tours.
"It's stress free," he said of the Champions. "All these guys, I loved, and they made me who I am. I enjoy seeing all these old guys out here playing."
When asked what's different about Champions Tour galleries, Perry quipped, "The color of their hair."
Watson out
Two-time Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am champion Tom Watson, left, dropped out of the tournament Wednesday due to a death in the family. He is replaced by Leonard Thompson. Watson won in 2007 and 2008.