GOLF NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : OCSA Nears Deal to Bring Senior PGA Tour to Orange County

Don Andersen believes it has been too long since Orange County last played host to a PGA Tour event, and this week he hopes to do something about it.

Andersen, executive director of the Orange County Sports Assn., says his organization is nearing a deal to bring a Senior PGA Tour event to the county in March.

“It would be a spectacular event in the county,� Andersen said. “There is such a big interest in golf in the county and there has been such a lack of tournament golf in the area.�

The last men’s PGA Tour event in Orange County, the 1968 Haig Open, was at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, and Mesa Verde would be the most likely site for a 1995 Senior tournament. Coto de Caza Golf Club also has expressed interest, but Andersen said Mesa Verde is the top choice.

First, however, Andersen must secure a title sponsor for the tournament. Friday morning, Andersen and an OCSA group will meet with officials from National at the rental car company’s office in Minneapolis.

The OCSA, which would manage the tournament, has received a recommendation from Senior PGA Tour officials, one of whom twice recently played the Mesa Verde course with Andersen.

Tim Crosby, another Senior Tour official, said Tuesday that Orange County is considered the favorite, although there are bids from other groups, including one in Houston.

“We’ve kind of had our eye on Orange County, which we view as a distinct market from Los Angeles, for a while,� Crosby said.

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The Orange County tournament would fill an open week on the Senior Tour schedule in the third week of March. It was formerly filled by a tournament in Indian Wells, which folded after 1993 because it had no title sponsor.

Andersen said he is shooting for a purse of about $1 million, which would put the tournament among the highest paying on the tour.

Mesa Verde played host to six LPGA tour events from 1979 to 1986 and to five PGA events from 1959 to 1968.

Art Schilling, Mesa Verde’s head professional, said he has heard that Senior players who played Mesa Verde in the ‘60s would like to come back.

One who likely would: Bob Dickson, who won the Haig as a rookie in 1968. In 1994, he’s a rookie on the Senior Tour.

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Fifteen Orange County residents are among the 92-player field for the 95th Southern California Golf Assn. amateur championship next week at Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights.

The tournament starts at 7 a.m. Friday, with two rounds. After a cut to the top 42 and ties, single rounds will be played Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:30 a.m. Spectators are welcome.

The tournament will offer a rare chance to see Cypress’ Tiger Woods compete locally. Woods, who graduated from Western High in June and will attend Stanford on scholarship, reached the semifinals of the California Amateur Championship in June at Pebble Beach, losing to Ed Cuff Jr. of Temecula.

Cuff is also entered in the SCGA amateur, along with Upland’s Steve Woods, who beat Cuff for the California Amateur title.

Other local entrants are: Chris Berry (Yorba Linda), Bruce Campbell (Placentia), Jeff Goettsche (Anaheim), Terry Heath (Lake Forest), Jeffrey Holt (Huntington Beach), Jon Levin (Huntington Beach), Iain MacDonald (Fullerton), John McDonald (San Clemente), Brian Rea (Huntington Beach), Kemp Richardson (Laguna Niguel), Richard Sims (Placentia), Cary Spadoni (Irvine), Richard Talt (Laguna Beach), James Wooley (Placentia).