GOLF / STEVE ELLING : Cal on Map Thanks to Wi’s Play

These are red-letter days for Charlie Wi. He hopes they continue next week on the Scarlet Course at Ohio State.

Wi, a 1990 graduate of Westlake High, is a fifth-year senior at Cal. Earlier this month at Kennewick, Wash., Wi became the first Cal player to win the Pacific 10 Conference individual championship.

Behind Wi, a transfer from Nevada, the Golden Bears have jumped from anonymity onto the national map. Last week in Albuquerque, N.M., Cal finished eighth in the West Regional and qualified for the NCAA Men’s Division I Championships.

Wi, who won the 1990 State Amateur title weeks after graduating from Westlake, is the ninth-ranked amateur in the nation according to Golfweek Magazine, which uses tournament performance and conference strength as criteria.

Cal hadn’t qualified for the NCAA final since 1949. The championship begins Wednesday at Ohio State.

Wi, who placed second in the prestigious Stanford Invitational earlier this spring, has blazed the Cal trail--which usually runs through the middle of the fairway.

His consistency has long been a hallmark, but this season, it’s become the stuff of legend.

During the regional, Wi uncharacteristically bogeyed four consecutive holes and shot 74.

“First time he’d bogeyed more than two in a row all year ,” Cal Coach Steve Desimone said. “It’s been some year for Charlie. And for us.”

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Don’t tread on me: The message is simple--don’t mess with Mother Nature, particularly if it slithers.

As summer approaches, the rough gets deeper, weeds grow taller, tree foliage gets thicker. But the hazards, particularly at rural courses, aren’t always obvious.

A golfer from New York was bitten this spring while fooling with a rattlesnake at Simi Hills Golf Course.

Pete Atwater, 45, is an assistant golf coach at State University of New York at Binghamton. The team was in town to compete in the Cal Lutheran Invitational and was practicing at Simi Hills when Atwater spotted a small rattler and decided it might be fun to have a picture snapped for the folks back home.

Bad move No. 1.

Atwater used a club to pin the snake to the ground so his partners could snap the photo. In an amazing display of brainless bravado, Atwater reached down to retrieve it.

Bad move No. 2.

The snake bit him on the left hand and disappeared faster than you can say T.C. Chen.

Atwater, who claimed to be a wildlife buff, was pumped full of anti-venom and received three treatments in a hyperbaric chamber at a local hospital before he was released later the same day.

His hand swelled up “like a baseball mitt,” he said.

Word to the wise: Rattlesnake season lasts until October, according to animal-control specialists. Open season on carelessness lasts all year.

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Local knowledge: Led by former Westlake High and USC standout Chris Zambri, four more area players cleared the first hurdle toward qualifying for next month’s U.S. Open.

Monday, Zambri shot a smoking, six-under 66 to win a local qualifier at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, his former high school and college course.

Also advancing were Richard Rodriguez of West Hills, who shot 68, Tim Hogarth of Van Nuys (69) and John Fiedler of Camarillo (70).

The four join Rich Greenwood of Encino, Jason Gore of Valencia and Craig Disiere of Burbank, who qualified at other sites.

The next leg of qualifying is June 5 at Valencia Country Club. The Open is June 15-18 at Shinnecock Hills, N.Y.

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We are family: Cherie Zaun of Oakmont Country Club in Glendale advanced to the quarterfinal round of match play in the championship flight of the 73rd Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. State Championship this week at Bakersfield Country Club.

Zaun is the sister of former major leaguer and Crespi High graduate Rick Dempsey, now manager of the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque.

Gregg Zaun, Cherie’s son, is batting .283 as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles’ triple-A team in Rochester, N.Y.

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City slickers: Applications close June 3 for entries in the 78th L.A. City Men’s Championship next month at Griffith Park and Rancho Park golf courses.

Shane O’Brien of Cal State Northridge, a Hart High graduate, is the defending champion.

The 72-hole championship flight is open to players with handicaps of three or less and the entry fee is $85. There also are four handicap flights.

Information: 213-660-2153 or 213-663-2555.