Bob Cantin: The one-time director of advertising and communications for PING, and the current Solheim Cup media coordinator, is retiring Friday after 26 years with the Phoenix-based manufacturing company. According to Cantin, an accomplished golfer in his own right, “I don’t ever plan to totally retire because in my Webster’s (dictionary), it says, ‘RETIRE: to withdraw to a secluded place,’ and as all of you know, that’s not my style.’’

Instead, the two-time club champion at Moon Valley and the co-founder of the esteemed MV3 Invitational, plans to play more golf, travel, fish, write and spend more time with his wife, Marsha, and their grandchildren. He also recently brought his accordion out of retirement, and is now playing with two bands -- the Best in the West Wagonmasters, and the Curtain Call.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to still shoot a couple of 33-33s,’’ said Cantin, who turns 66 in May. It won’t be the first time Cantin has shot his age, having posted a 64 a year ago at Moon Valley. Among his other golf feats, he once had a double-eagle 2 at the club’s eighth hole.

Cantin was honored on Tuesday with a retirement luncheon at Moon Valley that was attended by the Solheim family, including its matriarch, 87-year-old Louise, and its CEO, John. Many of the stories told by the speakers included precious moments shared between Cantin and the man who hired him, the late Karsten Solheim, the founder of PING.

“As Karsten was wont to do, he didn’t tell Bob what to do when he hired him,’’ Louise related. “He said, ‘I want to find out what Bob can do on his own.’ ’’ As it turned out, Cantin did it all, helping market the various PING products while overseeing the company’s involvement in five LPGA tournaments, which at one time or another were held in Phoenix, Tucson, Boston, Portland and around the world.

“I thought only lawyers were wordsmiths, but Bob did a lot of word-smithing for Karsten,’’ said John Solheim. “Thanks for making the Solheim Cup what is today, Bob.’’ Alan Solheim, another PING official and John’s older brother, added: “Bob didn’t miss a detail. He worked hard, and he played hard.’’

Two members of the media, Bruce Taylor of Golf Digest and Ron Riemer, formerly of Golf Magazine, turned the luncheon into a “roast.’’ They were especially focused on Cantin’s well-coffered hair that rivals the picture-perfect “do’’ of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson, and Cantin’s flat golf swing and unique putting style, which involves a wide stance with locked knees.

Taylor recalled a golf and fishing trip, where Cantin tumbled into a stream head-first: “There he is in the middle of a stream in Scotland, asking for a mirror and hair spray,’’ quipped Taylor. Riemer presented Cantin with three books entitled, “The Earth is Round; My Golf Swing is Flat,’’ “I Squat, I Putt, I Make,’’ and “I Fooled You All These Years! It’s a Toupee!”

Jokes aside, few people are more genuine than Bob Cantin. As a fitting finale, Cantin serenaded his guests on his accordion, playing “Please Don’t Take My Sunshine Away.’’ But it will happen on Friday, when a one-of-a-kind ray says good-bye.

NOTEWORTHY

Golfest: Longbow Golf Club in Mesa will host its second annual Longbow Golfest on Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m. The day-long event includes demos of the latest equipment from PING, Nike, Mizuno, Cleveland and Srixon, and a long-drive exhibition by Longbow’s touring pro, Ryan Hogue. Also on tap are free lessons from the Longbow staff, as well as a raffle to benefit junior golf. Golfest is free, with the first 100 attendees to receive free FBR Open tickets. For information, call (480) 807-5400 or visit www.longbowgolf.com.

Nesting instinct: The Bird’s Nest, the popular watering hole for the FBR Open, has announced its list of entertainment for Feb. 1-4. As usual, Duck Soup will kick off the partying each day at 6 p.m., followed by Metal Head (Wednesday), Zowie Bowie (Thursday), Cowboy Mouth (Friday) and Boogie Knights (Saturday). Tickets cost $20 for general admission, or $150 for VIP, and are available through Ticketmaster.

Amateur qualifier: The Safeway International Amateur Open is set for Feb. 9 at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club. The winner of the event, which costs $75 and is open to all amateurs with a USGA handicap of 2.0 or less, receives an exemption into the tournament March 16-19. To register, call 602-495-GOLF.