Gore Encounters Bush

Throughout the Southern California Golf Assn. amateur championship at Lakeside Golf Club last weekend, recent Walker Cup selection Jason Gore of Valencia drew the largest gallery.

That is, except for one hole. As Gore came up the 14th fairway, his gallery’s attention quickly turned toward the adjacent seventh hole where former President George Bush was playing.

“We weren’t expecting a crowd,” said one of the secret service agents who flanked Bush and his playing partners.

Bush, whose maternal grandfather George Herbert Walker donated the Walker Cup and had the tournament named for him, offered Gore a congratulatory handshake for his selection.

Gore then bogeyed the 15th hole. He got the stroke back with a 60-foot birdie chip on No. 17 to pull within two shots of Craig Steinberg. He birdied the 18th and lost to Steinberg by a shot.

“It was more of an adrenaline rush to meet President Bush,” Gore said.