All for the money

Mathis Winkler

Hank Adler’s work is pretty much done by now.

As the co-chairman of the Toshiba Senior Classic golf tournament at

the Newport Beach Country Club, Adler is responsible for finding sponsors

to ensure the event’s financial stability, while his co-chair, Jake

Rohrer, takes care of about 1,100 volunteers who work during the

tournament.

Building and nurturing relationships with the Classic’s financial

backers is a year-round task, said Adler, adding that thanking sponsors

through the better part of next weekend is his main duty right now.

Besides, most of Adler’s responsibilities are handled by tournament

director Jeff Purser, who took over as the Classic’s chief employee when

Hoag Hospital came aboard as the event’s organizing charity in 1997.

“He’s the greatest hire we ever made,” Adler said, sitting in Deloitte

& Touche’s 12th-floor conference room near South Coast Plaza, where he

works as a tax partner.

“Jeff [Purser’s] the man,” Adler said, adding that Purser has taken

over about 95% of his former work as head of fund-raising.

But it has not always been like this. A longtime supporter of Hoag

Hospital -- Adler now sits on the board of directors and acts as

treasurer -- his involvement in previous golf tournaments benefiting the

hospital was more hands-on.

“In those days, it was hand to mouth,” Adler said, taking a bite from

a muffin he’s found at a leftover breakfast buffet in the room.

And while the earlier incarnations of golf fund-raisers did bring in

six-figure sums for the hospital, last year’s $1-million check set new

records for the Senior tour. To the best of Adler’s knowledge, the event

has become Orange County’s biggest fund-raiser.

But back in his office, it becomes clear that Adler’s not just doing

this to bring in money for the hospital. The room is filled with golfing

memorabilia, ranging from a side table standing on golfer’s feet to

photographs of Adler in action on the golf course himself.

During the year, Adler -- who ranks himself just within the top 25% of

the Classic’s amateurs -- usually plays a round on Saturday mornings at

the Santa Ana Country Club.

The need to stay accessible for his clients might be the biggest

downside to his sport of choice.

“The beauty of golf and the horrible thing about golf is that it takes

. . . five hours,” he said. “The good part is that you get to be away

from everything. The bad part is that nobody can reach you.”

And just like the pros competing for the $210,000 grand prize this

weekend, Adler knows things can go either way.

“It’s hard to do,” he said. “It’s hard to make that ball go where you

want it to go. Some days, it does. Some days, it doesn’t even go in the

same ZIP Code where you want it to go.”