Lopez, Sorenstam, Kuehne to Play in Par-3 Tournament

LPGA Hall of Fame member Nancy Lopez, three-time LPGA Player of the Year Annika Sorenstam and two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kelli Kuehne have been added to the field for the Sun Microsystems Par-3 challenge Nov. 16 at Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad.

The LPGA stars complete a field of nine players from the three major U.S. tours. Defending champion Jesper Parnevik, two-time PGA Tour Player of the Year Fred Couples and 1999 Ryder Cup team member Hal Sutton will represent the PGA Tour.

Senior PGA Tour players in the field are fan favorites Chi Chi Rodriguez and Lee Trevino and NBC commentator Johnny Miller.

Lopez, Kuehne, Sorenstam and Couples also will play at the Diners Club Matches Dec. 11-12 at Pelican Hill.

The Par-3 challenge is a one-day, stroke-play event with holes ranging from 115 to 195 yards. The purse is $540,000, with $120,000 going to the winner. The tournament will be televised by Fox on Thanksgiving (Nov. 25).

Each hole has a hole-in-one bonus of $1 million to be split between any player making an ace and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling (619) 281-4653.

STRAWBERRY SENIORS

The Toshiba Senior Classic announced this week that Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine will be the site of open qualifying and one of the tournament’s pro-ams next year.

Strawberry Farms, which opened two years ago on land above and below the Sand Canyon Reservoir, will be hosting its first major professional event. On Feb. 28, players without exempt status on the Senior PGA Tour will play 18 holes for four spots in the Senior Classic March 3-5 at Newport Beach Country Club. The qualifier was held at Los Serranos in Chino Hills the last two years.

The Georgia Pacific Super Seniors Pro-Am, featuring senior tour members 60 and older, will be played March 2 at Strawberry Farms. The last two years the pro-am was held at Santa Ana Country Club.

Strawberry Farms is a par-71 course with a tough slope rating of 134 from its longest setup of 6,700 yards.

“I expect to see some really good scores--three, four or five under par is very attainable,” said Rick Howard, general manager of Strawberry Farms. “I’d love to see somebody make a run at the course record of 64.”

Howard said the events will be a good test of how well Strawberry Farms can handle professional tournaments and the crowds they bring. “It will be interesting to see how this turns out,” he said. “If it’s a nice smooth event, it will give us some history to see how we could do something like this again.”

HELPING OUT

One way to get a close-up look at the Senior Classic is to become a tournament volunteer, and organizers say this is the time of year to apply. All 14 volunteer committees have openings.

For a $60 fee and performing a variety of tasks, volunteers get a uniform, preferred parking, meals while working, a weeklong grounds pass, two daily tickets for guests and an invitation to the volunteer-appreciation party. For more information, call (949) 515-4840.

Staff writer Martin Beck contributed to this story.