BY RICK BROWN • May 23, 2009 Actor Fox proves he’s still in the gameComic actor Michael J.
Fox has been publicly fighting against Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade. And recently he has taken up golf in an effort to show that the disease doesn’t have to hamper one’s lifestyle. It is in that spirit that he is appearing in West Des Moines on Wednesday, playing in the Principal Charity Classic pro-am that tees off at 7 a.m. “Once you accept it, it doesn’t mean you’re resigned to it. It means you’ve acknowledged what it is, it’s a fact in your life, and it’s not going anywhere,” Fox, pictured at right, told the Tampa Tribune last month after playing in a pro-am there. “Your hand is shaking and there is nothing you can do about it. Once you’ve accepted it, you can make decisions going forward. “The one thing you don’t have a choice about right now – and we’re working on it – is whether you have Parkinson’s. But around that non-choice are a thousand other choices you have. You are not defined by that. You can go out and be a bad golfer if you want. You can shake and still be steady.” Two-time defending Principal champion Jay Haas will try to command the front page again by becoming the eighth player to win a Champions Tour event three straight times. The others: Hale Irwin (Turtle Bay, 2000-03, ’05) Chi Chi Rodriguez (Digital Classic, 1986-88) Bob Charles (Sunwest Bank, 1987-89) George Archer (Northville Classic, 1990-92) Joe Inman (Senior Classic, 1998-2000) Bruce Fleisher (Home Depot, 1999-2001). Roberts enjoys late challengeLoren Roberts tied for fifth in the 2008 Principal Charity Classic, and was a runner-up in 2006. A final-round double-bogey at No. 17 proved fatal in 2006. Last year, a birdie at the par-3 16th got him within a shot of the lead. Then he bogeyed the final two holes to shoot 67. But Roberts likes the challenge those final two holes present. He likes how No. 17 plays to a fairway that slopes left to right, and No. 18 slopes right to left. “I like those two working both ways,” Roberts said. Roberts has fallen in love with the Iowa countryside. When Roberts is not playing at Glen Oaks, the California native and Tennessee resident has made a habit of traveling around the area on county roads to soak in the peace and tranquility of rural Iowa. “I like coming to Iowa,” Roberts said. “I like driving out in the country, and trying restaurants in little towns. You drive in the country, and everyone out there is flying the American flag.”
Haas: Schall’s experience keyJay Haas also has some advice for Ken Schall, the director of golf at Glen Oaks who will be making his Champions Tour debut this week as well. Schall, 50, received a special exemption into the field. Haas said the fact that Schall has played in nine major championships in his career will help him. “The pressure he’ll face is performing for the local fans, the people he knows,” Haas said. “They’re going to be pulling for him and expecting him to do well. He’s going to put great expectations on himself, and rightfully so. It’s his hometown track. He knows it better than anyone. Hopefully he’ll have a good week, and that will bring more people out.” It also will get Schall out of the office for three days. “He’d much rather be playing than selling hats in the pro shop, I’m sure,” Haas said. “Best of luck to him. And hopefully he’ll have a great week.” Browne in Champions debutOlin Browne, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, will make his Champions Tour debut at Glen Oaks this week. Two-time defending Principal Charity Classic champion Jay Haas has an idea of what Browne, who turned 50 two days ago, will expect on the first tee Friday. “The first Champions Tour event I played was at the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla (in 2004),” Haas said. “I had been playing on the PGA Tour, and playing well with a chance to win a couple of events. And when I got to Valhalla I was as nervous as I’ve ever been on the first tee. I’m thinking, ‘What is going on here This is not right.’ ” Haas has shared his experience with others. “Any time I see a guy who has just turned 50, playing in his first event, I’ll tell them, ‘You’re going to surprise yourself when you stand on the first tee,’ ” Haas said. “You’re going to be nervous. Just be ready for it.” Haas gunning for No. 3Two-time defending Principal champion Jay Haas will try to command the front page again by becoming the eighth player to win a Champions Tour event three straight times. The others: Hale Irwin (Turtle Bay, 2000-03, ’05) Chi Chi Rodriguez (Digital Classic, 1986-88) Bob Charles (Sunwest Bank, 1987-89) George Archer (Northville Classic, 1990-92) Joe Inman (Senior Classic, 1998-2000) Bruce Fleisher (Home Depot, 1999-2001).