JUNIOR WORLD GOLF : Little Golfers Are a Big Deal at This Event

Norrie West is not a singer of any renown, nor has he appeared on stage or screen with Bob Hope. He does, however, have his own golf tournament, though it is much more a Burgerbake than a Clambake.

West is the general chairman and tournament director of the Optimist Junior World Championships, a tykes-to-teens shootout founded 20 years ago by West, Lou Smith and John Brown.

This has grown to be no small event . . . or chore.

A total of 745 junior boys and girls are spread over five golf courses and four age brackets this week for the 21st annual event.

“It’s far exceeded anything we expected,” West said, “but it’s great for the kids.”

And talk about international good will. A total of 53 nations have been represented, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. And no one has ever boycotted. Take that, Peter U.

The 1988 tournament has 135 foreign players from 29 countries, a more diverse representation than any of the majors on the men’s or women’s tours.

When these guys say Junior World, they mean it.

Logistically, it is incredible that this tournament, which began Tuesday and concludes Friday, runs as smoothly as it does. I mean, adults miss tee times at major professional tournaments, and we’re talking about hundreds of kids who are not even old enough to drive.

The event is held on the par-three Presidio course for ages 10 and under, the executive-length Mission Bay course for 11 and 12, Balboa Park for 13 and 14 and the two Torrey Pines courses for 15 through 17.

Somehow, it works.

“Two reasons,” West said. “We have knowledgeable volunteers, and we have the golf courses. It would be hard to have a tournament like this anywhere but here.”

Indeed, marshals patrol the courses, and each group has its own scorer.

West laughed.

“When Jackie Nicklaus played here, he went back and told his dad this was just like playing in the pros,” West said.

That’s appropriate, because some of these kids play just like pros. These are not a bunch of wide-eyed urchins with tennis shoes and mismatched clubs hacking holes in the fairways, leaving footprints in the sand and break-dancing on the greens.

These kids can play. In fact, 99% of the adults who play these same courses would be hard-pressed to finish in the top 10 in any of these fields . . . boys or girls.

Two years ago, in fact, a youngster from the Philippines named Carito Villaroman won the boys’ 15-17 with a score of 273.

“That,” said West, “was amazing.”

Let’s put that in perspective. Bob Tway won the rain-shortened Andy Williams Open that year in a playoff with Bernhard Langer after shooting 204 for 54 holes. Villaroman shot 202 for his first 54 holes. Villaroman’s 15-under-par score would have won 17 Andy Williams Opens and tied for first in another.

OK, so Villaroman did not have to play from the back tees . . . but he did have to play all four rounds on the tougher South Course. The pros play one round on the North.

West was able to enjoy a bit of Junior World nostalgia over the weekend while watching the British Open. Nick Price, runner-up to Seve Ballesteros, won the boys’ 15-17 title in 1974. Price was from what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

“When Nick was here,” West said, “I thought he was the best-looking junior player I’d ever seen.”

And how was this for a girls’ field in 15-17 in 1972?

Nancy Lopez finished third, and Amy Alcott finished second. The winner, in what was a major upset in retrospect, was France’s Anne-Marie Palli.

In the boys’ fields that year, Jack Renner won in 15-17, and John Cook won in 13-14.

A year later, Renner and Scott Simpson finished second and third to Hawaii’s Randy Barenaba in another hindsight upset.

Indeed, you can watch families grow up by looking at the Junior World’s past results.

Let’s take the Renners . . .

1968--Jane finishes third in girls’ 15-17, Jack wins 11-12, and Jim is third in 10-and-under.

1969--Jane wins 15-17, and Jim is third in 10-and-under.

1970--Jane is fifth in 15-17, and Jim wins boys’ 11-12.

1971--Jane is too old, but Jack is back and finishes second in boys’ 15-17.

1972--Jack wins 15-17.

1973--Jack is second in 15-17.

1974--Jack is too old, but Jim steps up and ties for fourth in 15-17.

1975--Jim is seventh in 15-17.

1976--Jim is seventh in 15-17.

That’s one family’s involvement, nine years of competition and camaraderie with youngsters from all over the world.

And here is a family with a different twist . . .

Craig Stadler won the boys’ 15-17 in 1970, and his son, Kevin, had his coming-out party in the 10-and-under Tuesday.

Norrie West watched this tournament first reach across oceans and then take a bigger leap across generations. Jack Lemmon and Phil Harris and Clint Eastwood have never played in this little Burgerbake, though Bing Crosby’s son did.

After all, this is not for celebrity hackers. It’s for kids . . . who can play.