Golf Skills Challenge to be Held at Ojai Valley

The sixth annual EMC Golf Skills Challenge will be held on Nov. 3 at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, it was announced by NBC Sports and Streetball Partners International of Dallas.

The $400,000 Challenge, which will be taped for broadcast on Dec. 13-14, features eight PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour players competing in nine skill events--driving, mid-iron, green-side bunker, pitch over hazard, fairway bunker, short iron, trouble shot, long iron and putting.

Ojai has played host to seven Senior PGA tournaments, but lost its spot on the tour this year when FHP Healthcare pulled out as title sponsor. The entire Skills event will be held on Ojai’s 487-yard, par-5 ninth hole.

Brad Faxon has won the Skills title the past two years, Gary Player won in 1994 and Peter Jacobsen won in 1992 and ’93.

Grand Canyons: Eighth-seeded College of the Canyons (31-13) will play host to No. 9 Cerritos (29-12-3) in a first-round series of the Southern California baseball regional Friday and Saturday.

The best-of-three series between the Cougars, the Western State Conference Southern Division champions, and Cerritos starts Friday at 2 p.m. The second game is Saturday at 10 a.m., with a third game to follow if necessary.

Three’s company: Antelope Valley College, Moorpark and Ventura will open play Friday in the Southern California softball regional.

The 16-team, double-elimination regional will be played at four sites.

Ventura (28-22-1), seeded No. 13, will play at No. 4 Palomar (38-12) at noon Friday. At 2 p.m., No. 6 Antelope Valley (29-17) will meet No. 11 Cuesta (30-16) at Cypress and No. 9 Moorpark (23-18) will face No. 8 Bakersfield (29-13) at Long Beach.

Fall from top: Because of a mediocre performance in Saturday’s Redondo-Mira Costa boys’ volleyball tournament, Royal High fell from No. 1 to No. 4 in the Southern Section Division I poll. Canyon also slipped, from No. 7 to No. 10, while Thousand Oaks moved up a spot to No. 8.

In Division II, Westlake remained at No. 5 while Newbury Park, at No. 9 last week, dropped out.

In Division III, Harvard-Westlake moved from No. 4 to No. 3. Campbell Hall remained at No. 7, Providence at No. 9.

Model fighter: Mia St. John of Woodland Hills, with knockout victories in each of her first two professional fights, has signed a four-year promotional contract with Don King Productions, her manager said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but St. John, a former actress and swimsuit model, is guaranteed at least $10,000 for her first fight, according to Art Lovett.

Heavyweight Jeremy Williams of Long Beach (29-2) will face Jeff Lally (20-7) in a 12-round main event for the North American Boxing Organization title May 15 at the Reseda Country Club.