O’Meara, Inkster headline Toshiba events

Mark O’Meara, a World Golf Hall of Famer who won the Masters and British Open in 1998, will be the keynote speaker for the annual Toshiba Classic Breakfast with a Champion, presented by Allergan on Oct. 27 at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort.

Juli Inkster, also a Hall of Famer, will be the featured golfer for the Toshiba Classic Women’s Business Day, presented by RightSourcing Oct. 29 at Newport Beach Country Club.

O’Meara, a 16-time PGA Tour winner, took home the trophy at the renowned AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach five times.

He has won twice on the PGA Champions Tour, including finishing in the top five in 2014, and hopes to add the Toshiba Classic to his list of accomplishments this year. Golf legends including Colin Montgomerie, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Steve Elkington, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Ben Crenshaw, Peter Jacobsen, Jay Haas, Fuzzy Zoeller and Chi Chi Rodriguez are all past guests of the breakfast.

Additionally, Toshiba will continue its annual scholarship program, which awards top Orange County Students with scholarships from the Toshiba Classic Scholarship Fund, later in the year. Tickets for the event are $125 per seat or a table of 10 for $1,250 with 80 percent of the price directly benefiting Hoag Hospital and the Allen Diabetes Center. To purchase tickets online visit www.toshibaclassic.com.

The Toshiba Classic Women’s Business Day event has grown year-after-year and this year’s guest of honor is Inkster, the LPGA legend. Past guest of honors have included World Golf Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez and Amy Alcott.

Following a golf clinic featuring Inkster and a networking party, Inkster will take the stage to share some stories from her professional career that has panned 29 years to date. In that time, Inkster has accumulated 31 wins including seven major championships placing her sixth all-time. She has more wins in Solheim Cup matches than any other American.

The mother of two daughters has become a mentor and role model for many younger players on the LPGA. Individual tickets for the event are $135 with a reserved private corporate hospitality table of 10 seats available for $1,250. For more information and to order tickets log on to www.toshibaclassic.com.

The 26th Annual Toshiba Classic tees off Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 at the Newport Beach Country Club. Toshiba Classic’s move from its long-standing March timeframe positions the Tour’s crown-jewel event as the last before the Tour Championship, a popular week for tournament play while the October timeframe represents some of the best weather of the year in Orange County.

Tickets are on sale now at www.toshibaclassic.com/tickets/ or at participating Roger Dunn Golf Stores with one-day tickets priced at $25 in advance of the event.

The Toshiba Classic’s lead charity and operator is Hoag Charity Sports, and this year’s tournament will benefit the Mary & Dick Allen Diabetes Center at Hoag for the fifth consecutive year. Hoag received the inaugural PGA Champions Tour Charity of the Year Award in 1998.

For more information on the Toshiba Classic, visit www.ToshibaClassic.com.

— From staff reports