Majority Rules in Oakmont Field

The players on the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. tour can be a tad cautious when a new tournament appears on their schedule.

They like to look before they leap.

“A lot of girls don’t want to play a first-year event because they don’t know what to expect,” said Emilee Klein, a regular on the tour.

But a number of elements have conspired, like tumblers falling into place, to transform the $650,000 Los Angeles Women’s Championship into an event of major proportions in just its second year.

When the 54-hole tournament begins at Oakmont Country Club on Friday, all but five of the top 100 golfers from 1997 are scheduled to play.

Annika Sorenstam will return, as will rising star Kelly Robbins and defending champion Terry-Jo Myers.

Laura Davies, Nancy Lopez and Michelle McGann are among a number of committed players who did not compete in Glendale last year. So is Karrie Webb, the 1997 Vare trophy winner for lowest scoring average and the leading money winner in 1996.

“We expected a good field because we had a good field last year,” said Rick Groesch, tournament director. “Of course we had our doubts with some of the women. Obviously, we were pleasantly surprised.”

Call it a case of good timing.

Much of the tournament’s popularity can be attributed to the fact that the Solheim Cup--the women’s equivalent to the Ryder Cup--will be played at Muirfield Village in Ohio in September.

The best players from the U.S. and Europe are scrambling to qualify for their respective squads. Players earn points based on top-10 finishes in any event. In Solheim Cup years, players earn 1 1/2 times the points.

“I expect to see stronger fields across the board this year,” said Jim Ritts, the LPGA commissioner. “The Solheim Cup will be the pervasive story all year long.”

A change in schedule has also made Oakmont more attractive. The tournament--which now follows two weeks of inactivity--was previously sandwiched between events in Florida, Hawaii and Australia.

It was a frequent flier’s dream, but an awful lot of miles to cover at the start of the season.

“The timing was bad,” Klein said. “This year, we have a little break before traveling out here.”

Also, word spread around the tour--Oakmont can be a terrific course to play.

Helen Alfredsson, who spends some of the year in a house up the freeway in La Canada Flintridge, likes the narrow fairways and fast greens..

“I’ve always thought it was a good test,” Alfredsson said. “You have to play really solid.”

Many players have fond memories from when the tour included a stop at Oakmont for three years in the mid-1980s. Even after years away, they could remember their favorite holes in detail.

Jan Stephenson called it “one of those courses with a lot of character.”

“I miss that course,” Chris Johnson said last year. “There are a lot of different kinds of holes.”

Groesch played off these memories.

“We’d go to the women throughout the year, promoting the tournament, saying, ‘Hey, we would really like to see you here,’ ” he said.

The previous tournament was discontinued after a rift developed between club members. Now that Oakmont has welcomed the LPGA back, tour officials are eager to establish themselves in Los Angeles, where two other events have gone under in the past two decades.

The Los Angeles Women’s Championship will surely benefit from its top-notch field, though long-range success could depend on additional developments.

The tournament has yet to find a title sponsor. It has yet to attract major television coverage.

There is also the weather. During the 1980s, the Oakmont event suffered through bouts of heavy rain, a problem that threatens to return in earnest this year.

Klein, who grew up in Studio City and whose parents are members of the club, is maintaining an optimistic outlook.

“A lot of the girls played there last year and talked about what a great course it was,” she said. “I think you’ll see the field get stronger and stronger every year.”