Allen Doyle Continues to Beat the Odds on the Senior Tour

By Jason Scott Deegan, Senior Staff Writer

DEARBORN, MI -- To any people who feel they've ever missed out on their dream in life, Allen Doyle is a light of inspiration.

Doyle is a man of many stories … a pro golfer who has beaten most of the odds with an unorthodox swing, a millionaire who also happens to have a compassionate side and a working class attitude, a devoted family man and a playful spirit who loves to give his friends a good ribbing. Doyle, one of the stars of the senior PGA tour, is all that wrapped into one.

Doyle chronicled his long journey to fame and fortune to a small group of reporters at the media day for the Ford Senior Players Championship, which will be held July 11-14 at the TPC of Michigan. The story of Doyle, the defending champion of the senior tour's most prestigious major, has been well told, but it's so good, it's worth writing over and over.

Doyle is living proof you're never too old to chase your passion in life. After growing up around the game of golf, he went to Norwich (Vt.) University to play hockey. After college, he joined the military, serving out his tenure until he was 30 years old.

All the while he continued to keep his golf skills sharp. Friends told him he was good enough to give pro golf a shot. Doyle didn't listen.

"People always ask why I didn't play professional golf earlier," said Doyle, who qualified for the PGA tour in 1996 at the age of 48 and joined the senior tour two years later. "To be honest, I felt I was too old to go on tour (at age 30). I was really too old at 46! I thought I had missed out on my chance. I did enjoy staying an active amateur. Everything I did wasn't perfect, but it got me in a great spot."

Isn't that the truth. Doyle was last year's leading money winner on the senior tour, collecting more than $2.5 million in earnings.

Doyle isn't just one of the old guys who emerges out of nowhere to take advantage of turning 50. He was on two U.S. Walker Cups teams and was the Georgia State Amateur champion six times.

Despite being the oldest rookie in the history of the PGA Tour after winning three events on the Buy.com Tour, he won more than $200,000 in his two seasons on the regular tour, including a tie for seventh at the 1998 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic.

Doyle's reasons for turning pro were simple. True to his family ideals, he did so to help pay for college for his two daughters, Erin and Michelle.

Luckily for Doyle, Erin, now 22, and Michelle, 21, both went on to earn golf scholarships - at Southern Mississippi and South Alabama, respectively - and didn't require him to pay a dime. That didn't stop him from continuing to work at playing golf professionally. In each of the last three years on the Senior Tour, he's played in at least 31 events a season with at least $1.5 million in earnings. This year, he had won more than $430,000 through 11 events with five top 10s.

Not bad for a guy who, for years, ran the Doyle's Driving Range in LaGrange, Ga., which also happens to be the hometown of the late Eli Callaway. Proving he is still the same humble man he's always been, Doyle still works the counter at his range when he's at home, with a small, cubicle of an office in back.

But to get at the true meaning of who Doyle is, just look at what he did last year. He grabbed attention throughout the sports world by donating all of his winnings from the Schwab Cup - a $1 million annuity for the senior tour's leading money winner - to seven charities, including a scholarship fund for children of police or firefighters who died on Sept. 11.

"I think that was one of the great stories of the year in all of sports," Senior PGA Tour media spokesman Jeff Adams says.

When asked about it, Doyle just shrugged it off and tried to explain himself, with his usual southern Georgia drawl.

"(The reason I did it) was the $1.9, $1.5 and $2.5 million I won the last three years," Doyle said. "I was fortunate when I started playing that Titleist looked at me as a hometown boy and they've been good to me. When I look at what I've made, I was brought up that if good things happen to you, you give back."

That's a refreshing tone of voice when athletes around the world are arguing over getting paid $10 a year when they feel they deserve more.

Hackers around the world can appreciate Doyle all the more when watching him play. He attributes his awkward swing to his hockey days and the fact that he used to practice his swing in a room with a low ceiling while growing up in Massachusetts.

When asked what kind of swing advice he gave his daughters, Doyle answered: "Do as I say, not as I do."

"My swing is not a swing anybody wants to learn. If they have an abbreviated swing, people come up and ask me questions about mine. But nobody who has a full swing should ask me for advice."

His breakout win at last year's Ford event was certainly dramatic. He made a 35-foot birdie putt on the last hole to force a playoff with Doug Tewell. Doyle won with par on the next hole.

"This tournament last year was a great springboard for me," Doyle said. "At the beginning of the year, I was having a lot of close calls. I wouldn't win, but I kept getting great finishes. People were focusing on what they thought was wrong with me. I would say nothing. I just need some bounces and to quit seeing lip outs (on putts). I had a wonderful year. It's incredible to play for $375,000."

Doyle certainly can relate. Just a couple of years ago, his rounds consisted of bets for considerably less.

He admits he's one of the shorter hitters on tour -- another lovable feature that many amateurs can relate to - but it was the big stick that won the championship for him.

"I usually average somewhere between 30th and 40th in driving for a (tournament) week, but last year, I was first, averaging 304 yards (at the TPC of Michigan)," he recalled of his great week. "I hit a low draw, so I'm hoping those fairways are firm and fast."

Just like his rise to riches.

July 10, 2002