Glendale Tournament Happy With 1st Shot

For Emilee Klein, the end came with a thud.

Her drive off the eighth tee struck one of the scenic but lethal oak trees that adorn Oakmont Country Club. A groan rose from the gallery of loved ones and fans who had watched her grow up on this course and followed her every stroke in the LPGA’s Los Angeles Women’s Championship on Sunday.

Klein never quite recovered from her subsequent bogey on No. 8. Any hopes she had for a comeback win were dashed as she finished four under par, six strokes behind the eventual winner, Terry-Jo Myers.

“I know I could have done better,” Klein said. “But I’m happy. It was a fun week.”

Perhaps the same could be said for the championship itself, the first professional golf tournament here in 10 years. It failed to draw substantial crowds or national television coverage, but provided three days of exciting play and an emotional win for Myers.

“This was a shakedown cruise,” LPGA Commissioner Jim Ritts said. “I think it takes you three years to know what you have in a tournament. But this was a good start.”

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The LPGA has had trouble establishing itself in Los Angeles, with three tournaments starting and subsequently folding here over the last 20 years.

Numerous Glendale businesses chipped in as sponsors to bring the event back to Oakmont, where it took place from 1985 to 1987. The Glendale Redevelopment Agency added $150,000, hoping that an influx of players and fans might boost the local economy.

At the Glendale Galleria, a salesclerk said his golf shop experienced a marked increase in customers during the week, including caddies who bought new clothes for Sunday’s final round. A trendy pizzeria not far from Oakmont reported a steady stream of customers from the tournament.

Many of the players stayed at a nearby hotel that was used for promotional events tied to the tournament.

“Ten years ago there wasn’t a big enough hotel in Glendale to do that,” said Don Andersen, the tournament director.

All this amounted to a big deal in Glendale, a city of nearly 200,000 that in many ways maintains the feel of a small town. Although redevelopment agency officials were waiting for the results of a comprehensive survey before commenting on the financial fallout of the event, Mayor Sheldon Baker called the situation “a win for everybody.”

Almost everybody. Vendors were disappointed in the modest attendance. Lacking a big-money corporate sponsor, the tournament hadn’t been heavily advertised.

“We have a full year to improve on that,” Ritts said. “Next year we will market more visibly.”

The lack of cheering throngs did not faze neighborhood resident Jim Stead. Other than Myers, he may have been the weekend’s biggest winner.

Stead has been a member at Oakmont for 23 years and bought a house overlooking the first green a little more than a decade ago. Each morning, he could be seen in his frontyard, relaxing in a patio chair, watching the action.

“I can see it all,” Stead said. “No one’s in front of me.”

The avid golfer recorded each par, each bogey and birdie that passed before him. He went so far as to test himself against the players’ scores, sneaking down Saturday evening to play the hole a few times himself.

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Such pleasures outweighed the hassle of increased traffic on the streets around his house. Cars lined the curbs for blocks in every direction.

“Next year, I’d like to have a 10-floor parking structure across the street,” Andersen quipped.

Said Arthur Frias, who lives across the street from the club: “It has been kind of crowded. But I’m glad to see so many people enjoying the game.”

A good number of locals were fans of Klein, who attended Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks and whose parents are members at Oakmont. Even at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, with the course all but deserted, about 60 people gathered to follow her through first-round play.

Her mother, Randee, led the pack. A short, determined woman given to smoking one cigarette after another, she tromped ahead to where she expected her daughter’s next shot to land. The moment the ball hit, she was up again, moving on.

“I love walking,” she said. “I love being outdoors.”

She was joined by her husband, Bobby, and plenty of friends and relatives. There was also a little girl who showed up all three days wearing an “Emilee Klein Fan Club” shirt. And Liz Kizu, the Beverly Hills hairdresser who cuts Emilee’s hair.

“This is wonderful,” said Kizu, who had never seen her client play. “And doesn’t her hair look great?”

Over the course of three days, literally every shot Klein hit was greeted with applause and shouts, with cries of “Stick it!” and “Sink it!” While she appreciated the attention, there were drawbacks.

“Everybody expects me to do well,” Klein said.

Those expectations were slim as Klein started Sunday’s final round seven strokes behind. Those expectations were shattered when she bounced her drive off the tree on No. 8, then missed a short putt on No. 9 for a second bogey.

At roughly the same time, Myers--who plays with an incurable bladder disease--was putting together a run that would lead to her second win in 12 years on the tour.

Klein managed to climb back onto the leader board with birdies on the 10th, 11th and 15th holes. On the 18th green, she chipped to within six feet of the cup, then sank another birdie putt.

The gallery roared and she broke into a relieved smile. Her return to Oakmont had not produced a win, but maybe this was good enough.