Little Man with a Big Impact Jim Colbert
makes a Big Hit at the CEOpen
by David Smale
Take a beautiful golf course, a sunny day and an enthralled crowd. Mix in the chance to hit a few golf balls, and you have a great recipe for a perfect day for Jim Colbert.
Sweeten it with an opportunity to raise significant funds for a worthy charity, especially one so near and dear to Colbert’s heart, and you have a delicious treat for one of Kansas City’s all-time greatest golfers.
Colbert, one of the most recognizable names on the PGA Champions Tour, was a special guest at Ingram’s 2005 CEOpen Executive Golf Tournament, where he schmoozed many of KC’s top executive golfers before giving a golf clinic to the crowd of tournament participants. The clinic was sponsored by Burns & McDonnell.
“When I go to a movie or a restaurant, I’d just as soon be Joe Smith,” Colbert said, “but between the ropes or out here, then I’m the show, and I like that. I like the recognition. We all want to be recognized on the golf course. Arnold Palmer is recognized everywhere he goes, and he loves it.”
Colbert likes the concept of collecting CEOs and area executives for a competitive tournament.
“It’s something we tried to do on the (Champions) Tour to get it started,” he said. “If you take CEOs from around the country with single-digit handicaps, it’s something the Golf Channel or ESPN would show.”
One of the great things about golf, in Colbert’s eyes, is the fact that players of all skill levels can play side-by-side. “It’s the only sport in the world that I know of that can truly be handicapped,” he said. “I play a lot of golf with (former tennis pro) Pete Sampras. I sure as heck can’t play tennis with him.”
Colbert, who was in Kansas City to play in the following weekend’s Champions Tour Bayer Advantage, returned to his hometown early so he could appear at the CEOpen. The former star at Bishop Miege High School and Kansas State University—where he also played on the freshman football team—said he was glad to be part of the event.
“When my friend Mark Taylor (CFO) of Burns and McDonnell called and told me about this tournament and that the main benefactor was the American Cancer Society, I said, ‘Sure,’” said Colbert, a prostate cancer survivor. “Cancer is a bitter enemy. With the CEOs and executive and fundraising potential, it was an easy yes.”
But the chance to give a clinic and “perform” for a crowd of golfers—and golf fans—absorbing every word he spoke was the highlight for the man with the constantly turned-up collar and smile.
“It’s all part of the overall deal of being a professional golfer,” he said. “My daughter is a singer/songwriter. She wrote a song that’s partially about me. There’s a line it there that says, ‘We both like the applause.’ I have said many times, ‘If nobody would watch me play anymore, I might never play again.’”
Colbert is still playing on the Champions Tour. He joined the PGA Tour in 1965 after finishing second in the 1963 NCAA championship. He won eight tournaments on the PGA Tour. He joined the Senior Tour in 1991 and has won 20 tournaments and earned $11.4 million, fifth most on the Tour. He said there’s a lot of similarity between playing professional sports and being a CEO.
“These guys didn’t get to be executives and CEOs without being competitors,” he said. “There are quite a few CEOs who are really good golfers, even though they work their tails off. When they play golf, they do the same thing.
“I think this tournament is terrific. It’s good to see everone out here in this setting.”
It was an event that left a good taste in your mouth.
