Champions Tour golfer Jim Thorpe, imprisoned since April for failing to pay income taxes, has told a friend he's on track for an early release later this month.
Barring complications, Mike Lewis said Wednesday, Thorpe is scheduled for a Jan. 26 release from the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.
Thorpe's first stop would be an Orlando-area halfway house, then home sentencing while he works at a local golf course.
"When I talked to him, he said he's getting very anxious and looking forward to getting this behind him and moving forward," said Lewis, Thorpe's business partner.
Thorpe, 61, received a one-year prison sentence last January after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay income taxes. He agreed to pay more than $2 million in back taxes, interest and penalties to the IRS.
In time, Thorpe also will be able to return to his old job. A suspension from the Champions Tour expires March 31, the date his sentence ends. Tour officials confirmed Wednesday the 13-time Champions winner is free to enter any event that follows.
Thorpe is No. 7 in all-time Champions Tour earnings, banking more than $13.4 million since joining the senior circuit.
"I know he has received plenty of correspondence from players and friends," Lewis said. "And they're looking forward to getting Jim back out there."
Danger zone: Though the Tres Marias Championship remains on the LPGA schedule, Commissioner Mike Whan acknowledges that concerns about drug-related violence could put the event in limbo well before its April 21 start.
Violence spiked in Mexico's western state of Michoacan last month after federal police killed alleged La Familia cartel leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez. Morelia, where the tournament is played, is Michoacan's capitol.
"It wouldn't surprise me at all to see that postponed," Whan said. "As I always say, I wouldn't send anybody anywhere that I wouldn't send my daughter."
Tap-in: Dave Eichelberger, a six-time Champions Tour winner, tees it up with the younger set at this week's Sony Open in Hawaii. Eichelberger earned the spot by shooting his age (67) to win the Aloha Section PGA Professional title last fall.
— Jeff Shain