GOLF

Best of the best: Linda Pearson of La Canada shot one-over-par 73 on Thursday at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert to win the Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. Tournament of Champions.

Linda Olsen of Granada Hills finished second, two strokes back, and Jody Duclos of Moorpark shot 77 and finished fourth.

BASEBALL

Making his pitch: Left-hander Randy Wolf, a member of the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization from El Camino Real High, entered the week with a 1.88 earned-run average--third-best in the Arizona Fall League.

Outfielder Gabe Kapler of the Detroit Tigers’ organization, who played at Taft High and Moorpark College, is ninth in batting with a .322 average.

Gary Matthews, a San Diego Padres’ farmhand who attended Granada Hills High and Mission College, is sixth in the Mexican Pacific League with a .367 average.

Long division: The California League will scrap the Valley and Freeway divisional alignment used the last two years and return to a traditional North and South format for the 1999 season.

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Lancaster, a Class-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, will compete in the South Division with High Desert (Diamondbacks), San Bernardino (Dodgers), Rancho Cucamonga (Padres) and Lake Elsinore (Angels).

The North Division will be San Jose (Giants), Modesto (A’s), Stockton (Brewers), Visalia (A’s) and Bakersfield (Giants).

BASKETBALL

Benchmark: Highland Hall High has hired Roberto Pozzi as girls’ coach. He replaces Humberto Ramirez, who coached the boys’ and girls’ programs last season.

Ramirez will continue as boys’ coach and assist Pozzi, a former track coach at Chaminade.

BOXING

On the card: Junior-middleweight Ricky Quiles, who scored a third-round knockout last month at the Reseda Country Club, will headline a program at the Country Club on Nov. 19. Quiles will fight an opponent to be determined.

The card also is scheduled to include heavyweight Chris Johnson and light-heavyweight Victor Ortiz of Simi Valley.

Playing the heavy: Heavyweight Lance Whitaker of Granada Hills will place his 17-0 record on the line Nov. 28 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio.

Whitaker, who recorded his 15th knockout in his last fight in July, will fight an opponent to be determined on the undercard of the Miguel Angel Gonzalez-Kostya Tszyu World Boxing Council super-lightweight title fight.

SOFTBALL

Making a pitch: Lancaster won a bid to host the U.S. national men’s Class A slow-pitch tournament in the year 2000.

Lancaster won out over Jacksonville, Fla., Shreveport, La., Memphis, Tenn., and Lawton, Okla.