Eichelberger enjoying fruits of labor, Hawai'i

By Bill Kwon

"I hope to keep playing at least three more years, till I'm 65 or so," says Champions Tour member Dave Eichelberger. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

But he's fast learning the kama'aina way.

"I never realized what a big deal it was until I moved here," Eichelberger said about his wife's insistence that they enroll their 7-year-old twins, Davis and Emalia, at Punahou School beginning from the first grade.

It's not surprising.

Eichelberger's wife, D.C. (don't call her Dorothy Christine), is a member of a kama'aina missionary family and a Punahou graduate. With their youngsters growing up, the couple realized there is no place like Hawai'i.

What surprised Eichelberger, though, was their tuition bill for the elite private school.

"It's like a college tuition," said the 37-year PGA Tour veteran, who returned home after finishing his 12th season on the PGA Champions Tour.

Fortunately, the 61-year-old Eichelberger still has his health and is able to compete more than adequately in what has to be the best "retirement" plan any sport can offer.

He has earned more than $6.8 million since joining the senior tour in 1993.

Playing in 25 of the scheduled 30 events, Eichelberger earned $315,317 to finish 52nd on the senior tour's money list this year. That's not counting $107,438 he collected in the tour's tournament-within-a-tournament, the Super Seniors competition for those 60 and over.

The latter isn't official money, but it sure counts when you deposit it at your local bank.

"That's a beautiful thing," Eichelberger said about the 12-event Super Seniors division in which he finished ninth on that money list led by Jay Sigel with $219,292.

Considering he earned $178,622 to rank 72nd on the official money list the year before, Eichelberger feels moving here wasn't as demanding as he thought it would be in playing a full schedule on the senior tour.

"I haven't found it to be that much more difficult," he said. "I probably spent less time on a plane, really. Seven times out and back from here."

When he lived back East, he flew home after every tournament to total some 60,000 miles annually. It is considerably less now.

"Now I go to like three or four tournaments at a time before flying home," he said.

D.C. and the twins joined him for a couple of tournaments during the year, but it probably will be for only the summer next year because the twins will be in school.

This year started off great, according to Eichelberger, who finished tied for seventh in the season-opening MasterCard Championship at Hualalai on the Big Island.

He posted his only other top-10 finish (tied for sixth) in the Blue Angels Classic in Pensacola, Fla., in April. The two events accounted for one-third of his 2004 earnings.

"It kinda slowed down during August and then went into the tank until the middle of September," he said. "Things just weren't working. But that's my game. It comes and goes. On for a couple of months, then gone for a couple of months."

Eichelberger, who came back in time to play in this week's Golf Concepts Four-Ball Match Play Championship at the Oahu Country Club where he is a member, is looking forward to next year.

He's not eligible for the 2005 MasterCard Championship, but can't wait to play the Turtle Bay Championship, the first full-field event of the Champions Tour.

"It'll be nice playing there. Having it right after (the MasterCard) will help them. Pretty much everybody will be in the field," said Eichelberger, who is looking at entering 25 of the scheduled 28 events next year.

"We lost three tournaments (Mexico, Miami and Cincinnati) but got a new one in Seattle in September and Turtle Bay back after a year," he said.

Eichelberger admits it is getting harder on the old body to keep up the pace.

"I hope to keep playing at least three more years, till I'm 65 or so. Then I'll think about slowing down," he said.

Eichelberger led Oklahoma State to the 1963 NCAA Championship and won four PGA Tour titles, including the Greater Milwaukee Open twice.

"I definitely can see that age is a factor, especially in driving distance and stamina," he said. "I can feel that now sometimes. For me, I've got to keep working at it. I think playing a lot helps, for me anyway."

Eichelberger regrets that he won't be playing in the Hawai'i State Open at the Hawai'i Prince Course next month because of a scheduling conflict.

"I would love to, but I've got the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational the same weekend. It's a four-day pro-am. Otherwise, that's it for me the rest of the year," said Eichelberger, who is not sure if he'll try to Monday qualify for the 2005 Sony Open as he successfully did this year.

"January (at Turtle Bay) starts up the new season," he said.

After all, there are tuition bills to pay.

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