Visit our Outdoor Dining Area CONTENTS F EBRUARY M ARCH 2021 9 Publisher’s Notes 12 The Future of Men’s Tennis is Bright! Four upcoming stars will likely enjoy memorable victories for years to come 16 The Future of the 2021 BNP Paribas Open Due to COVID-19, the BNP Paribas Open has been postponed; new dates have yet to be announced 20 Luigi Serra Leaves a Legacy of Extraordinary Tennis Photography— and Humanity As news of renowned tennis photographer Luigi Serra’s passing went out, tributes and statements of great sadness poured in from across the globe 24 Kipp Robert Downing, Palm Desert and La Quinta Restaurateur The valley lost a longtime community member and entrepreneur in December 29 The Patrick Warburton Celebrity Invitational The event went off without a hitch and the timing allowed the charity to raise more than $3 million 30 Traveling to Scottland Golf in Scotland is an experience “not to be missed” for golfers from around the world 26 The American Express Hosted by Phil Mickelson Cover photo: Nick Kyrgios, Brandon Nakashima, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev Desert Golf &tennis • february March 2021 5 For Take Out Please Call LaQuinta Cliffhouse CONTENTS F EBRUARY M ARCH 2021 38 34 Looking Ahead to Economic Recovery in 2021 Hope is on the horizon 37 Golf Instruction: Set Up - Posture 38 Valley Real Estate in 2021 Shifts in real estate market trends have been just one of the countless ways the events of 2020 have changed our lives and are continuing to shape our future 40 Dine Out! Please support your local resturants 48 Mustang GT Sedan Ford’s electric-powered crossover 50 The jumpsuit as a staple of sophisticated women’s fashion From elegant to sporty, styles steal the 48 runway 52 Margot McKinney’s jewelry designs: a study in abundance Celebrating bright colors and rich textures found in nature 54 Golf & Tennis R esort Maps and Guides 40 Desert Golf &tennis • february March 2021 7 F EBRUARY M ARCH 2021 Publisher’s notes by timothy J. Pade • [email protected] Spectacular weather and our gorgeous season is here! Also in this edition are the memorials of two of our The golf courses, COVID and all, are seeing a 25% “own” that have passed and are now with our Lord. increase in play, and the tennis courts are full! As we all World famous Luigi Serra, our own beloved “little try to live our lives to the fullest, we continue to try to Italian” was far from little in the world of photography. make the very best of life as it is today. Safely and as Having photographed some of the largest events around healthy as possible, these sports offer great fitness and the world for more than 45 years, Luigi will be terribly sanity. Fortunately golf and tennis are able to be played missed by us all and in our future publications as will we without the hardship of social distancing. miss his amazing coverage of tennis. In this edition, we are asking, almost begging, our We lost another star and super supporter of this readers to please support the local businesses and publication, Kipp Downing. Downing, an amazing especially restaurants in our community. Many of our restauranteur, family man and amazing friend to Desert favorite places are literally on the brink of extinction Golf & Tennis for many years lost his long battle with without all of us supporting them. You will find a small cancer in December 2020. Downing owned and directory of some of our favorite dining options operated two of the valley’s best restaurants for the past throughout the valley beginning on page 40. We were 20 years, Pacifica Seafood in Palm Desert and the popular only able to feature a small percentage of the many La Quinta Cliffhouse in LaQuinta, CA and recently sold amazing restaurant options we all have, however, we will the Pacifica Del Mar in Del Mar California. We will miss continue to include other dining options as we continue these amazing people terribly and wanted to honor both to publish. of them in this publication. Please see our heartfelt Of course, we too are extremely grateful for our coverage of these two amazing people beginning on page supporters and hope and pray that this pandemic loses 20. its grip on all of us, both here in the desert and This past year, 2020, has been extremely humbling throughout the world. There are so many that have and we hope to be able to continue to publish and bring been unable to operate or open and we must get through to you, Desert Golf & Tennis for many years to come. We this together. thank our subscribers and advertisers for their support With the world-class BNP Paribas postponed again and hope that you enjoy this publication as much as we this year, until hopefully sometime in October of 2021, enjoy putting it together. we thought we should continue to feature tennis and We hope and pray that you will all remain healthy showcase some of the elite men’s players working to win and joy the golf and tennis lifestyle that our spectacular their first major. Our cover feature provides you with desert has to offer. some information on some of the world’s top contenders hoping to breakthrough. Desert Golf &tennis • february March 2021 9 february March 2021 22nd annual Vol.XXii, no.ii Editor/Publisher: TIMOTHY J. PADE Marketing/Promotion: TIMOTHY J. PADE P.O. Box 1158, Writers: AARON ATWOOD Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 CLIVE CLARK (760) 969-2392 • (800) 858-9677 ALISON ELSNER [email protected] JOE EVETRANO BECKY FOSSUM Account Executive CHRIS LEWIS KAREN GUTHRIE CHRISTINE LOOMIS P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 808-264-9065 [email protected] Art Director: MICHAEL UNGER Vice President Sales & Marketing, Hawaii Division KATHRYN HELLER Photography: LUIGI SERRA 469 Ena Road #3507, DANE ANDREW Honolulu, HI 96815 PAUL LESTER NIKKO MILKOVIC Marketing Pacific Northwest KEN E. MAY Region: JOHN HENEBRY MARY CONDY 541-390-9504 GREGG FELSEN Bend, OR 97702 [email protected] Desert Golf & Tennis is published under ISSN No. 1522-9777 five times a year by Pade Publishing L.L.C., P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted 2021 by Pade Publishing L.L.C., all rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the editorial or graphic content of this magazine, without permis sion, in any manner, is prohibited.© To subscribe: 1yr. at $24.75, 2 yrs at $49.50 and 3 yrs. at $74.25. Send check to: P.O. Box 1158, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 TO SUBSCRIBE call: 760-969-2392 or visit dgnt.com Desert Golf & Tennis, LLC President, Timothy J. Pade In Memoriam, Executive Vice President, Ellen Meyer Secretary, Sherwood Steele Legal Counsel, Michael Henson Follow us on facebook at: facebook.com/golfmagazines Search “Desert Golf” on facebook and become a fan for updates and golf promos Desert Golf & Tennis is a division of Pade Publishing, L.L.C. Follow us on twitter at: S ASS’N R O E F twitter.com/desertgolfguy T I A R M E W R F I L C O A G National Photography Award 1st Place International Network of Golf Awards 2004, 2005 & 2008 on cover Nick Kyrgios: A $9 he competed against each of them, Million Winner. Kyrgios also has one doubles title, as he Ranked in the top 50 has a 41-43 record so far. Born in Australia in the world ranking in 1995, Kyrgios also achieved Grand Slam success as a junior, winning the boys’ singles event at the 2013 Australian Open and the boys’ doubles event at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. Brandon Nakashima: Leaving College to Become a Professional A winner of two ITF singles titles, Brandon Nakashima was a student at the University of Virginia, where he compiled a 17-5 singles record and a 20-3 doubles record, was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and received All ACC First Team and All ACC Academic Team honors. And then, after just one highly successful semester, he decided to forego the rest of his eligibility and become a professional. To some, the decision may have been viewed as a bit premature, as he could have Nick Kyrgios finished his college career, earned his s everyone in the tennis industry continues to welcome a new year Awith opened arms—cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season in the midst of the global pandemic—one fact remains clear: the future of tennis is definitely in good hands. Without question, tennis’s future stars are, despite their youth, fully prepared for the challenges of Grand Slam tournaments, as evidenced by their results last season, with major winners ranging By: Chris Lewis from 19-year-old Iga witek (French Open) and 21-year-old Sofia Kenin (Australian Open), to 23-year-old Naomi Osaka (US Open) and 27-year-old Dominic Thiem (US Open). And they’re certainly up to the challenges of competing one-on- one with tennis’s biggest names: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, among others. But there is an even younger group of Brandon Nakashima up and comers that tennis professionals, commentators and fans should be aware Nick Kyrgios: A $9 Million Winner bachelor’s degree and compiled more of—rising male stars that have the ability to A former world number one as a collegiate victories, prior to becoming a carry the mantle as legends like Djokovic, junior, Nick Kyrgios has since won six professional.