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After gaining acclaim as outstanding Virginia amateur players, the Wadkins brothers have continued to prosper professionally – on and off the golf course.

by Jennings Culley

Their mindset may be a bit different these days, but for the Wadkins brothers – Lanny and Bobby – the object in their cross-hairs is the same.

They've drawn a bead on golf this season, just as they have every year since they learned to swing a club as kids in Richmond some 40 years ago.

The two are golf veterans now, having fashioned solid careers on the PGA Tour after etching their names in the amateur annals of the VSGA.

But now their paths have changed, if ever so slightly.

Bobby has homed in on his new-found success on the Champions Tour. He has become a factor in the Senior events while building quite a nest egg.

Lanny is reaping rave reviews in his new role as lead analyst for the CBS telecasts. He plays an occasional Champions Tour tournament, but his vast experience is bringing interesting and reflective critique to the tournament telecasts.

"I miss playing, but I'm really enjoying the TV work," says Lanny, winner of 21 PGA tournaments. "I'm getting more and more comfortable in the booth. I've got the best commentator in the industry, Jim Nance, sitting next to me.

"The team has been rocking and rolling…we've had some good telecasts this year. With David Feherty and Gary McCord, there's never a dull moment."

The CBS crew has been crafted from a diverse group of former players. They have come to the game from different angles, so they offer different ideas and perspectives about what's happening. Lanny brings his own battle-tested experience and is no different in this respect.

"We interact a lot," he says. "I'll talk to McCord or Peter Oosterhuis or Feherty about a shot and we go back and forth with observations. We feed off each other.

"The thing I've found so interesting is that I can tell when it's been a really good show or just so-so. Sometimes, maybe I wasn't great, but the team was terrific. Other times, I hit on some really good things.

"I like it when we have total interaction. You know then it's a winner."

While Lanny has focused on the air waves rather than competitive golf, Bobby has come to the fore on the Champions Tour.

Late in the summer of 2001, Bobby won the first Senior tournament he entered – the Lightpath Long Island Classic. Lanny had also won the first Senior event he played the year before. But by winning just 10 days after he turned 50, he bested Lanny in the record book. The victory also enabled the Wadkins brothers to become just the second set of siblings to triumph on the Champions Tour, with Dave and Mike Hill being the only other brothers to accomplish the feat.

The win was especially sweet for Bobby since he had been saddled much of his career with the label of the player who had amassed the most money on the PGA Tour ($3,015,961) without winning a tournament.

The point was a bit unfair. Long before, Bobby had proved his excellence when he twice won the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan (1979 and 1986) and the European Open (1978) against world-class fields.

After that Long Island win, Bobby had four top-ten finishes in his first 10 Champions Tour events. Last year, he enjoyed his finest season, earning $1.3 million, including three seconds and a third. Only Allen Doyle earned more money without notching a victory.

"I feel I'm one of the top 15 players out there now," notes Bobby. "I feel if I play good, I've got a chance to win every week.

"I've been very pleased with my Senior play. Last year was a good year. It would have been a great year if I had won a tournament."

So what does he need to do to add more W's to his resume?

"Maybe I need to get a bit luckier," says Bobby, with a knowing smile.

Dame Fortune has never been kind to the younger Wadkins. Instead, heartbreak and misfortune have often dogged him during his 26 years on the regular tour.

He finished second (or tied for second) six times, and the litany of near-misses is tinged with despair.

In the 1979 Philadelphia Classic, Bobby led by a stroke on the 72nd tee and drilled a shot straight down the middle. The ball hit a sprinkler head and kicked left behind a tree. He was forced to chip out and eventually made a bogey. Lou Graham went on beat him in a playoff.

At the Heritage Classic in 1985, Bernhard Langer had to get up and down from the rough at the final green to tie Bobby. Langer then prevailed in the playoff.

At the Kemper Open in 1994, Bobby was in the lead late in the final round when his approach sailed left of the green. Two thousand fans saw the ball go into the thick rough. Nobody could find it. After a lost-ball penalty, Bobby finished second.

Since joining the Champions Tour, Bobby has been high on the leaderboard consistently. He's had a win and four seconds in just 41 events.

"I like to keep my goals for the year to myself," explains Bobby. "I want to keep improving and see what happens."

He started the new season with a second place finish in the first full-field event at Key Biscayne. That, despite struggling with back spasms. He's seen three specialists and had countless x-rays since.

"Hopefully, it's muscular and won't need surgery," says Bobby. "My game is in good shape. I need to get my back straight. If I stay healthy and am able to practice, I'll be fine."

Ironically, it was a series of injuries (wrist, thumb and elbow) that dampened Lanny's arrival on the Champions Tour. After winning early at the 2000 ACE Group Classic, he recorded six top-ten finishes before being lured by CBS as Ken Venturi's replacement in the TV booth.

"I'm doing 19 events for CBS…that doesn't leave much time to play," says Lanny. "I hope to play 10 events. That will make a full year."

Lanny's 29 years on the regular tour featured a PGA Championship win, a victory at the Tournament Players Championship and a triumph at the World Series of Golf, among his other top finishes. He was a dominant player on eight Ryder Cup teams and the captain of the 1995 squad.

The brothers were winners in their amateur days, too. Both claimed the VSGA Amateur Championship, Lanny in 1970 and Bobby claimed the title two years later. Lanny is the last stroke play medalist to go on to win the championship.

The matchup between the two in the '70 finals was a classic duel. Bobby shot 68 in the morning round at the venerable Cascades course in Hot Springs and had Lanny one down. Ultimately, Lanny’s fierce competitiveness shone through.

"I started the afternoon with three straight birdies and never looked back," remembers Lanny. "When I get people down, I never let up – whether he's a brother or not."

The game plan carried Lanny to a 6 and 5 win that day – and pro stardom in the years that followed.

Author Jennings Culley is a sports reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and a frequent contributor to Virginia Golfer magazine.

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