AROUND THE GREENS
Senior golfer Eichelberger to call Hawai'i his home

By Bill Kwon

Dave Eichelberger, with 6-year-old twins Emalia, left, and Davis, and wife, D.C., are in Hawai'i to stay. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser 2003 Prince Resorts Hawai'i State Open WHAT: 54-hole golf tournament WHERE: Hapuna Golf Course WHEN: From 7 a.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. Oakley Pro-Am today from 11:30 a.m. PURSE: $50,000 ($6,000 winner) FIELD: Defending champions Tom Eubank (pro), Dean Prince and Dan Nishimoto (co-senior) and others including Manoa Cup champion Kellen-Floyd Asao, State Amateur champion Chase Chulakote, Champions Tour member Dave Eichelberger, three-time champions Kevin Hayashi and David Ishii, 2003 Jennie K. and HSWGA State Stroke Play champion Stephanie Kono and Aloha Section Player of the Year leader Beau Yokomoto. ADMISSION: Free

"I am here," said Eichelberger when he showed up for an interview at the Oahu Country Club, where he is a full regular member after being a special non-resident member for several years.

The Texas native referred to his presence in more ways than one. He's now an official resident of Hawai'i, having moved here in August. He just signed the closing papers for a home he bought in Nu'uanu across the Pali Highway from the private country club.

Moving here was a no-brainer, according to Eichelberger.

"My wife is from here. We always talked about coming back to Hawai'i, and we finally got in the position to make that hope come true," he said.

Coming here annually since 1968, when he first played in the Hawaiian Open, Eichelberger fell in love with the Islands. He also happened to fall in love with a local girl, D.C. Mist, a member of a kama'aina missionary family.

They met in 1985 at a golf tournament, the Westchester Classic, in New York, where Mist then lived.

They were married nine years later and lived in New Canaan, Conn., 45 minutes by train from the Big Apple. With 6-year-old twins, Davis and Emalia, growing up quickly, when it came to finally settling down, there was no place like Hawai'i.

Not that Eichelberger is done with golf. Far from it.

The travel is going to be more demanding, Eichelberger admits, but he still plans on playing about 28 tournaments next year. The 2004 Champions Tour season starts Jan. 23-25 with the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai on the Big Island.

The only other PGA pro who had ever tried the commute from Hawai'i was Scott Simpson, who found it too difficult, and moved back to San Diego.

Eichelberger is willing to give it a shot because the senior schedule is less demanding. He used to fly back home to Connecticut after every tournament, racking up about 60,000 air miles annually.

"That got a little bit tiring. This time, it'll be a little more traveling, but there are a lot of weeks off on next year's schedule," he said. "The Champions Tour hasn't scheduled any of our events opposite the majors next year.

"There will be four or five periods when I'll be gone a month at a time. But in the summer, the whole family will go east and travel some."

He plans on playing a full schedule until he is 65. "God willing," said Eichelberger, who turned 60 in September. "I feel I can stay competitive. I still feel I can win."

With that in mind, Eichelberger isn't playing in the senior division this weekend. He is competing with the younger pros in the championship flight.

He also will enter the Aloha Section PGA qualifying for the Sony Open early next month because of his new affiliation with the local section.

"I don't feel like a senior just yet, not with 6-year-old twins. They keep me young, they keep running around," said Eichelberger, a grandfather from a previous marriage.

Born in Waco, Texas, Eichelberger led Oklahoma State to the 1963 NCAA championship and played in the 1965 Walker Cup and America's Cup teams before joining the PGA Tour in 1967. He won four PGA events, including the Greater Milwaukee Open twice.

He joined the senior tour in 1993 and won six times, including the 1999 U.S. Senior Open to earn the biggest paycheck ($315,000) of his career.

"I would consider that my grandest win, the most satisfying. But the first tour win at Milwaukee (in 1971) was pretty satisfying, too," said Eichelberger, who has earned more than $6.5 million since joining the over-50 circuit.

He had his worst year money-wise in 2003, finishing 72nd on the money list with $178,622 with his best finish a tie for 12th.

"I struggled with my game all year," said Eichelberger, whose only other career disappointment was not playing well in the Hawaiian Open at the Waialae Country Club.

"I don't ever recall having a top-10 finish. But I always looked forward to coming here," Eichelberger said.

This time, he is here to stay.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.