Sports at Lunch, Billy Casper, Gene Littler, Phil Rodgers and Scott Simpson

Billy Casper, Gene Littler, Phil Rodgers and Scott Simpson, San Diego golf legends who won a combined five major titles and three NCAA titles in their careers, spoke at Sports at Lunch on April 12 at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.

Golf legends (left to right) Phil Rodgers, Gene Littler, Billy Casper ant Scott Simpson with moderators (in the background) Tina Mickelson and Tom Addis.

San Diego's Scott Simpson, winner of the 1987 U.S. Open, with a bat used by Ted Williams to hit .406 in 1941 and Hall of Champions founder Bob Breitbard in his office.

04-12-2006: By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

Four legends of San Diego golf – among them they are the holders of five career major titles, with one of them narrowly missing his chance to join the club after a 36-hole playoff loss at the 1963 British Open – sat together at the San Diego Hall of Champions April 12 for Sports at Lunch.

They talked golf then and now. They talked about the impact of equipment on the game and the longer courses being built to counteract the equipment. And they talked about the latest San Diegan to win a major title – Phil Mickelson’s victory April 9 at the Masters.

“It may have been the finest round of golf played,” Casper said of Mickelson’s masterful final-round play for a two-shot victory that held off a tightly packed field of the game's best players.

Mickelson, a University of San Diego High alumnus, tied Casper, a Chula Vista High graduate, for most majors won by a San Diegan with three. He won the Masters in 2004 and the PGA Championship in 2005.

Mickelson now has 29 career PGA victories and is tied with Littler's career total. One more win will place him second to the 51 titles captured by Casper in his career that includes induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, PGA Hall of Fame and the Breitbard Hall of Fame.

Casper won the 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, the 1966 U.S. Open at Olympic and the 1970 Masters.

Gene Littler, a La Jolla High alum and Breitbard Hall-of-Famer, won the 1961 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.

Scott Simpson, a Madison High alumnus and Breitbard Hall of Famer, won the 1987 U.S. Open at Olympic.

Phil Rodgers, also at La Jolla High alum, was one of the game’s finest amateurs of his time and the 1958 NCAA champion.

For the first time, the 74-year-old Casper is having his status as San Diego's most successful player challenged.

"Billy has the best record so far, but I think Phil will probably surpass that," Littler said. "He's won three so far, and he'll probably win a lot more."

It was a rare public appearance for Littler, who got off some of the best one liners as the foursome needled each other.

When Casper, Littler and Rodgers played the PGA Tour in the 1960s, they were known as the 1-2-3 punch from San Diego. Simpson grew up watching them, and now he’s the one telling stories about a young kid who watched his career.

“I remember at Stardust coming home after winning the Western Open, and a little 12-year-old kid was always chipping on the green,” said Simpson, who also won back-to-back NCAA titles at USC. “He said to me, ‘Gee, Mr. Simpson, I saw you win that tournament. That was the neatest thing.' It was this little Phil Mickelson kid.”

Tom Addis, the CEO of the Southern California Golf Association, and Tina Mickelson, a commentator on the Golf Channel and Phil's younger sister, served as moderators for lunch with the legends.

One of the questions asked of the players was what it meant to them to play in a major tournament and win.

“It’s a great accomplishment to win a major, but now they’re always talking about the greatest player not to win a major,” Simpson said. “Someone like Phil Mickelson would have been a great player, even if he never won a major. Same with Sergio (Garcia) if he doesn't win one.”

Casper suggested Simpson will appreciate his major more in future years.

“You’re always remembered for the major championships,” said Casper in his distinctive Johnny Cash-like deep voice. “They don’t remember that I won Colonial twice. But they remember that I won the Open. It’s the epitome of a professional golfer to win a major championship. We all strive to win a major championship when we’re growing up and dreaming about it. It means much more now than when it actually happened.”

Littler made a rare public appearance so he could be with his old golf buddies.

“Winning a major is a great thing, although when we played we weren’t focused on it like they are now,” Littler said. “It was another tournament to us, although it was an important tournament. We were just out there trying to make a living. We didn’t play the course a couple weeks before it like they do now. When Billy and I played the tour, we pulled a trailor. Our lodging for a week was $7. It was important, but I don’t think it was as important as today.”

Rodgers lost a 36-hole playoff at the 1963 British Open, the last year such a format was used.

“I was an exclusive member of a club in pro golf as the only player to lose a major to a left-hander until Mike Weir won the Masters,” Rodgers said. “I lost to Bob Charles in 1963 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. He waxed me pretty good.”

Rodgers later became known as a premier instructor of the short game. Jack Nicklaus credited work with Phil Rodgers for helping him end a slump when he win at the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol at the age of 40.

The players also talked about what it was like on tour before the big-money purses of today and the changes equipment has made in the game. What did they say? You should have been at Sports at Lunch.

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.

Billy Casper signing autographs.