He’d Be a Star on the Magical Mystery Tour

Anti-Establishment free-thinker Mac O’Grady has been missing from the PGA Tour for the most part because of a bad back, which he says doesn’t hurt as much if he plays left-handed. In the meantime, O’Grady has gained a reputation as a swing doctor for touring pros such as Seve Ballesteros, Chip Beck and Jodie Mudd.

O’Grady, 41, who lives in Palm Springs, turned up in Long Beach last weekend to play in the Queen Mary Open, part of the Spalding Golden State Major Pro Series. O’Grady won the event, putting left-handed.

Afterward, he told Jim McCurdie of the Long Beach Press Telegram what he was doing in Long Beach.

“I’m here because of the anthropomorphic existence of Old Man Par,” O’Grady said. “Old Man Par keeps holding my hand. He’s guided me to all these exotic corners of the world. . . . If Old Man Par wants me to be here, that’s where I am.”

Add O’Grady: O’Grady is planning to play tournaments in Europe the rest of the year, but not in any PGA events.

“I’m disappearing until February, 1994, and then I’m teeing it up at the L.A. Open at Riviera left-handed,” he said.

Trivia time: Lou Gehrig holds the record for most grand slams with 23. Who is second?

Look out: According to the book “What the Odds Are: A-to-Z Odds on Everything You Hoped or Feared Could Happen,” the odds are 1 in 300,000 you will get hit by a foul ball at a major league game.

Name games: Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun reports that “The National Directory of College Athletics” voted UC Santa Cruz the school with the best nickname: Banana Slugs.

Others listed were the Washburn Ichabods, Columbia College Claim Jumpers and Richland Thunderducks.

Money matters: Is there trouble brewing in Minnesota? The World Series champion Twins are faced with the impending free agency of such key players Kirby Puckett, Greg Gagne, John Smiley and Chili Davis after this season. According to Peter Pascarelli of the Sporting News, there is no way the Twins can keep them all.

Said Andy MacPhail, Twin general manager: “The average payroll right now is about $30 million, which is about where we are. With that payroll, we need to draw 2.5 million fans just to break even, and our franchise has been over 2.2 million just once in its history.”

Rocket blast-off: With Saturday’s victory, Boston’s Roger Clemens is 84-27 in games he has started after a Red Sox loss.

Draft news: Some hockey experts are predicting that there might be as many as 12 European players taken during the first round of the NHL entry draft June 20.

Bulletin: Kirk Gibson, a former Michigan State All-American football player, is considering playing for the Detroit Drive in the Arena Football League, now that his baseball career apparently is over.

Poor Memory: During a round-table discussion about the NBA playoffs on a cable channel, host Bob Neal could not name the team the Portland Trail Blazers played in the conference semifinals--it was Phoenix--and later called the Clippers “the San Diego Clippers.”

Trivia answer: Willie McCovey, with 18.

Quotebook: Pittsburgh Penguin left wing Kevin Stevens, comparing his moves to those of teammates Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux: “I’d have to beam up to another solar system to be able to get on their wave length.”