Golf : A Spring Gold Rush Awaits Women Pros

A record $10.1-million Ladies Professional Golf Assn. tour will get off to a fast start next year in Southern California with four spring tournaments worth $1.21 million.

The 15th annual Nabisco Dinah Shore, premier event of the LPGA, has raised its purse to $430,000, including a women’s-record $75,000 to the winner. Alice Miller collected $55,000 this year.

Dinah’s tournament, to be held April 3-6 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, will be the third of the four area events. After three January-February tournaments in Florida and one in Arizona, the women will play Feb. 27-March 3 in the $330,000 Uniden Invitational at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa.

Following a week in Hawaii, they will return to Glendale for the $250,000 GNA Tournament March 13-16 at the Oakmont Country Club and the $200,000 Kyocera Inamori Tournament April 10-13 at Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego.

“We are just winding up our most successful season, as far as purses and excitement are concerned,” said John Laupheimer, LPGA commissioner. “We had Alice Miller break all our scoring records halfway through the year to become our first $300,000 winner, and then Nancy Lopez came along and passed Alice to become our first $400,000 winner the same year.

“Next year, we increase our overall purses about $1 million, something we’ve done every year since 1982. We lost the J&B; tournament in Las Vegas but we have 36 events and the four California tournaments look stronger than ever.”

Golf Notes The purse for the MONY Tournament of Champions, which will open the PGA Tour Jan. 8-11 at La Costa, has been raised $100,000 to $500,000, with the winner receiving $90,000. Tom Kite is defending champion. . . . The Cal State Northridge Matador Mulligan tournament was rained out last week and rescheduled for Jan. 6, at Woodland Hills CC. . . . Golf Magazine’s Junior All-American team included Eldrick (Tiger) Woods of Cypress in the boys 11 and under group; Kristyl Sunderman of El Cajon in the girls 12-13 and Dana Lofland of Oxnard, Michele Lyford of Redlands and Tracy Nakamura of Monterey Park in the girls 16-18. . . . Players of the year in the American Junior Golf Assn. are Bob May of La Habra and Pearl Sinn of Bellflower.

Fourteen area seniors will attempt to qualify for the PGA Senior tour this week at the Tournament Players Club in Fort Pierce, Fla. An entry of 156 will compete for 12 playing cards over 108 holes. They include Bill Blanton, San Diego; Hulen Coker, San Diego; Donald Collett, San Diego; Jim Cowan, Escondido; Jim Dowling, San Diego; Bob Ellsworth, Palm Springs; Ken Freer, San Diego; Jay Hyon, Monterey Park; Jim McKeighen, Long Beach; Clayton Miller, La Verne; Bill Nunnally, Pico Rivera; J. D. Sanderson, Pasadena; Bob Spencer, Arcadia; Frank Tricarico, Anaheim Hills, and Jim Wilson, Burbank. Also entered are John Brodie, former 49er quarterback, and Jimmy Powell, two-time SoCal PGA champion now living in Dallas.

Mike McTeigue, a graduate of UCLA and a former teaching pro at Riviera, Bel-Air and Palos Verdes, has written a book: “The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing,” $13.95, Antheneum Publishers. Stanford women’s coach Tim Baldwin calls it, “The simplest, most easily understood, best overall golf instructional presentation I have ever read.” . . . Amateur qualifying for the Los Angeles Open, rained out last Monday, has been rescheduled for Jan. 6, at Hillcrest CC. Amateur qualifying for the Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open will be held Saturday at Torrey Pines’ south course. . . . Speaking of the LA Open, the parents’ group at the Lokrantz School for the handicapped in Reseda is selling 100 chances on a berth in the pro-am at $50 a chance. Interested parties may call (818) 886-8980.

Ten California courses, led by Cypress Point, are ranked among America’s 100 greatest courses by Golf Digest. Cypress Point is No. 3, behind Pine Valley, N.J., and Augusta National, home of the Masters. Pebble Beach is No. 4, Olympic Club’s Lake course No. 10, Riviera No. 18, Los Angeles’ North course No. 20, San Francisco GC No. 21, Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach No. 39, La Quinta Hotel’s Mountain course No. 67, Pauma Valley No. 70 and La Costa No. 84.