LPGA Needs Our County--and More

How bad does the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. want to return to Orange County? Let them count the ways.

“I can promise you that if it works,” said LPGA vice president Jim Webb of a proposed tournament at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park, “we will be screaming to high heaven.”

And . . .

“We would love to have a tournament in Orange County,” he said. “It’s a major market, certainly a growing market. If we could be back there, that’s where we would like to be.”

Yes, well, so much for subtleties. The LPGA adores Orange County, needs Orange County, the same way it needs any golf-rich population center. And in a crazy, wacky way, Orange County needs the LPGA back.

Already, representatives of the LPGA have visited the Los Coyotes layout and, according to course owner Chuck McAuley, pronounced it fit and utterly charming.

“They thought it was great,” McAuley said. “They said the layout was as good or better than an updated The Players Championship course.”

Of course, they did. They want a tournament here as bad, or worse, than McAuley himself.

If all goes as expected, official confirmation of a deal could come as soon as next week, McAuley said. But this much is known: September is the likely month, a Japanese firm is the probable sponsor and Orange County is the happy beneficiary. After pursuing a tournament for almost the past eight months, McAuley couldn’t be more pleased.

“Orange County deserves a good tournament,” he said, “And our people are very positive that they can really put on a good tournament.”

We’ve heard that before, haven’t we? Three times the LPGA has placed the county on its schedule only to pull up its tees in three years or less. Count ‘em:

--It stayed a year at, of all the familiar places, Los Coyotes, before moving to Pasadena.

--It made a three-year appearance at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, this time in the form of the Women’s Kemper Open, before bidding a fond farewell after the 1981 tournament.

--It returned to Mesa Verde as the Uniden Invitational in 1984 and stayed until 1986 before folding. Turns out Uniden had better things to do with the $600,000 or so--minimum--that it takes to sponsor a tournament of this sort.

So what gives? Will a fourth LPGA try be the charm?

Larry Igarashi thinks so. Or at least hopes so.

Igarashi was the guy who produced the Uniden tournament. Golf is his business and Orange County is his home. He knows the market.

He also knows a little something about the do’s and don’ts of organizing an LPGA get-together. In his three years with the Uniden Invitational, Igarashi committed his share of blunders, but he also masterminded a few successes, as well. Like most everyone else, he is rooting hard for Los Coyotes.

“I wish them the very best,” he said.

In fact, Igarashi can do better than that: He can provide the infant tournament with advice--free of charge too. What a bargain.

Hindsight Lesson No. 1: Never allow the sponsor to think its considerable financial investment will mean considerable financial dividends. It won’t. Trust Igarashi on this.

“I don’t know if I can give them dollar for dollar value,” Igarashi said.

In other words, just because you sink hundreds of thousands of dollars into a tournament, don’t think you’ll get it back right away. As Igarashi is kind enough to point out (much to the dismay of the LPGA), the association lags well behind the men’s tour and the Senior tour in prize money, corporate sponsorship, major network television coverage and income from television rights. Add to that this persistent problem of star appeal. The PGA Tour has Greg Norman and Curtis Strange, to name two. The Seniors have legends, such as Gary Player, Chi Chi Rodriguez and, of course, Arnie.

The LPGA has Nancy Lopez and, well . . . did we mention Nancy Lopez?

Igarashi illustrates the situation thusly:

“If it’s a men’s tournament, a thousand companies will want to sponsor it,” he said.

And if there’s an opening in the LPGA schedule book for a tournament?

A harder sell, suggests Igarashi.

A spot in a pro-am foursome might cost about $3,000 at a PGA tournament. At an LPGA tournament, Igarashi said, that same foursome spot could be had for $1,000, maybe less. “It’s a tough sell,” he said.

Which brings us to Hindsight Lesson No. 2: Pay attention to all the little people who made it possible.

If Igarashi has one regret about the way he ran the Uniden, it was his mishandling of the 800 or so volunteers needed to ensure a tournament’s success. He warns the folks at Los Coyotes not to make the same mistake.

“I should have paid more attention to those people,” he said.

Hindsight Lesson No. 3 is simple enough: Don’t underestimate Orange County’s love of golf.

“A lot of golfers exist here,” Igarashi said, which isn’t exactly a news flash. Ever try getting a tee time around here? Unless you slip the starter a crisp new Andrew Jackson, you’ll never do better than a 5:21 a.m. appointment with the first tee. As a general rule of thumb, I prefer to actually be awake when I swing something with perimeter weighting.

Still, Igarashi’s point is well taken. Not only are there few courses available for the hacking stiff around the area, there are even fewer tournaments, like none. Just imagine, he said, if an LPGA event gained a foothold and, better yet, a following. The sponsor might see black in its ledgers, after all.

Hindsight Lesson No. 4: Pray for no rain, a sudden-death playoff and the emergence of someone with a little crowd appeal.

I’ve got a better idea: Just wish for a signed contract and a commitment--to the LPGA and our close, personal friend, Orange County.