No Zurich Classic leaves empty feeling for this New Orleans native

When Kelly Gibson was 8 years old, his father took him to his first PGA TOUR event at Lakewood Country Club in New Orleans.

“I watched Jack Nicklaus beat Miller Barber on my dad's shoulders,” Gibson recalls, the memory of that playoff still vivid even after 47 years.

And he’s either attended, competed or been associated with every Zurich Classic of New Orleans since – with the exception of the four years when he played golf at Lamar University. Until this week, of course.

There will be no Zurich Classic in 2020. No two-man teams playing at TPC Louisiana – a golf course that Gibson helped design with the legendary Pete Dye and fellow pro Steve Elkington. None of the Big Easy’s famed restaurants like Drago’s and Emeril’s and the Acme Oyster House set up on the property dishing out food for the fans.

The tournament is one of nine TOUR events and one major championship that have been canceled as the world desperately tries to flatten the deadly coronavirus curve. Gibson understands, of course, and knows that his hometown has been particularly hard-hit as one of the country’s early hot spots.

But there’s still a void.

“I never missed it physically hurt, injured, surgery, or anything,” says the 55-year-old Gibson, whose last appearance as a player was in 2007. “This will be the first time really in 47 years I wasn't involved in the tournament in some way, shape, or form.”

On Tuesday – for the 31st year -- Gibson would have hosted a junior clinic at TPC Louisiana for between 50 and 100 youngsters and their parents. Once, Lexi Thompson, an 11-time LPGA champion and Zurich ambassador, helped him with it. Vijay Singh, Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner and J.B. Holmes, among others, have also demonstrated shots for the kids.

“I try to make it interactive,” Gibson says. “I usually try to bring up some of the kids to hit. There's been a few years where if I had the time, and we had the space to do it, I let every single kid that shows up hit at least one shot.

“It's exciting for them because I can remember that first time when I was 8 years old, seeing Jack Nicklaus, and all I'm trying to do is say, ‘Hey, I was in your shoes at one time.’ I'm from New Orleans. I'm from the West Bank. I grew up just like where you grew up, and this is the reality.

“It's essentially like a kid going to a football game and getting to meet (New Orleans Saints quarterback) Drew Brees on the field.”

Since 1993, Gibson, who is hunkered down at home like the rest of us these days with his wife and two almost-teenaged daughters, has served on the Fore!Kids Foundation Committee that puts on the Zurich Classic. He knows the charitable impact the tournament has on a wide variety of New Orleans organizations. Restaurants, hotels and bars, among other establishments, also see an uptick in revenue, as well.

At the same time, though, the fifth-generation New Orleans native has seen his hometown repeatedly persevere.

After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Kelly quickly created a non-profit called “Feed The Relief” and raised more than $1 million to help feed first responders in the port city and neighboring areas. The organization is now the Kelly Gibson Foundation, focused not only on first responders but also the military and children’s athletics, including a robust junior golf tour consisting of nearly 20 events.

Turns out, the Zurich Classic was the first major sporting event held in New Orleans after Katrina hit in August 2005, albeit at a different course (English Turn in 2006) because TPC Louisiana sustained considerable damage. And Gibson knows the 2021 edition of the tournament will mark another triumphant return.

In the meantime, Gibson is entertaining himself and his friends on Facebook with daily posts about his days on the PGA TOUR. A friend challenged him, and Gibson, a consummate storyteller in person, didn’t back down from doing it in cyberspace. He hasn’t missed a day since that first post at 2:25 p.m. on March 24.

“I said, ‘It's story time. Name a place, a color, or a person. I'll try to tell a story to help pass this time during this difficult period,’ ” Gibson recalls. “So, people started replying. Tell a story about Butler National. Tell a story about your favorite golf course on TOUR; least favorite. Tell a story about Dennis Trixler. Tell a story about Lee Janzen.”

And Gibson has taken those comments to heart.

He’s written about meeting presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford at the 1995 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. At the same time, there was the meeting with Ben Hogan that almost didn’t happen. Oh, and the brush with Elton John on his honeymoon. And can you believe he hit seven – count ‘em, seven – spectators are the Greater Greensboro Open one year?

“It's a view into my life which could seem egotistical, or this is just Kelly frustrated doing stuff because he's bored,” Gibson says. “Actually, I'm doing this to entertain friends.

“It's been therapeutic, or maybe cathartic is the word.”

And we all need a little of that these days.