Golf : City of Glendale Hopes to Gain Recognition From LPGA Tournament at Oakmont

When the women golfers of the LPGA come to the Oakmont Country Club March 13-16 for the GNA/Glendale Federal tournament, it will be more than a golf tournament. It will be a civic celebration.

On the golf course, 144 professionals, headed by defending champion Jan Stephenson, will compete for $250,000 in the seventh tournament of the $10.1-million LPGA Tour.

Off the golf course, the Glendale Redevelopment Agency and the Glendale Development Council plan to use the tournament as a vehicle for attaining national exposure for their city.

“This tournament can help give Glendale the recognition it needs to put it on the map,” said Ray Edwards, chairman of the GDC, a group of civic and business leaders.

That’s something that John Wayne and Casey Stengel, Glendale’s most famous citizens, apparently couldn’t accomplish during their lifetimes.

“It not only will bring an estimated 25,000 visitors to Glendale but it will be televised in at least 17 markets reaching an estimated 10 to 12 million homes,” Edwards said.

To help assure their promotional success, the combined forces of the GRA and GDC plan to spend $100,000 of their marketing budget on the tournament.

Edwards is also chairman of the sponsoring Glendale Federal Savings & Loan Assn.

“Glendale Federal is a co-sponsor because the tournament provides a direct way to reach target customers, many of whom are golfers as well as enthusiasts of women’s sports,” he said.

What the spectators and TV viewers will see is the finest women golfers playing what last year was the most difficult course on the LPGA tour.

Stephenson’s total of 290 was the only 72-hole winning score above par during the year. Oakmont’s par-four 12th hole, 410 yards to an elevated green, was the most difficult single hole the women played. They averaged 4.624 strokes during last year’s tournament.

The pro-am on March 12 is already sold out, according to tournament director Don Andersen. Among the pro-am entries are Dinah Shore, George Peppard and James Garner, whose brother Jack is a teaching professional at Oakmont.

Amateur entries in the pro-am contributed $80,000 for the tournament’s three charities--the Glendale YMCA, California Medical Center of Los Angeles and Big Brothers of Los Angeles.

Golf Notes Playing in the L.A. Open must have been an inspiration to Paul Wise and Wayne Case, even though both missed the 36-hole cut. Wise came back Monday to win a SoCal PGA regional tournament with a 69 at Valencia, and Case won a Golden State Tour one-day event with a 67 at Los Coyotes. . . . The GST will play Friday at Vista Valley CC in Vista and March 10 at Valencia. The GST seniors will play Friday at Recreation Park in Long Beach.

Openings are available for the Coors/All-World Sports Invitational Pro-Am, March 31-April 1, on the Sahara CC and Calvada Valley CC courses in Las Vegas. The format calls for teams of one professional and four amateurs for the two-day tournament. . . . Coach Jackie Steinmann, pro Amy Alcott and the UCLA women’s golf team will play host to the UCLA Celebrity Invitational April 7 at Riviera CC. . . . The SoCal PGA pro-club champion tournament will be played March 17 at Redlands CC.

Former USC captain Vic Loustalot has formed a golf consulting firm with Pat Markovich in San Pablo. Loustalot is also head professional at Mira Vista GC in El Cerrito, Calif. . . . Clinics for juniors and seniors and a long-drive contest for LPGA members will be held March 10-11 as a warmup for the GNA/Glendale Federal tournament. Betsy King, 1984 LPGA player of the year, will conduct the seniors’ clinic at 4 p.m. that Monday. Alcott will conduct the junior clinic that Tuesday at 4 p.m., after a long-driving contest.

USC, with U.S. Amateur champion Sam Randolph, ranks No. 8 in the Jones Sports Co. College Golf Poll, conducted by the Golf Coaches Assn. The top 10: 1. Oklahoma State, 330 points; 2. Wake Forest, 306; 3. Florida, 263; 4. LSU, 254; 5. Oklahoma, 215; 6. Arizona State, 190; 7. Georgia Tech, 188; 8. USC and Houston, 169; 10. North Carolina, 134. Fresno State was ranked No. 18.