GOLF:

The AT&T; Champions Classic has followed the Toshiba Classic on the Champions Tour schedule for a few years now, but we may have seen the last of the event and while people might think that is good for Toshiba, it probably isn’t.

Valencia Country Club has hosted this 20-year event since 2001 and unlike Toshiba has gone through several changes through the years.

The tournament, which was then called the Security Pacific Senior Classic, began in 1990 at Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles. The municipal golf course, which hosted the Los Angeles Open for several years, has always been a darling of the PGA Tour.

It was a perfect layout for the pros, fairly flat, easy to walk, nice big gallery viewing areas, all made it desirable.

The run lasted five years, with Mike Hill, John Brodie, Ray Floyd, Dale Douglass and Jack Kiefer winning.

Ralphs took over sponsorship of the event in 1992 and actually had the longest run of the five sponsors. Toward the middle of their run the tournament was moved to Wilshire Country Club, where it was held for six years.

The tournament changed sponsors in 1998 when Pacific Bell took it over and called it the Pacific Bell Senior Classic, then changed the name to the SBC Senior Classic when SBC bought out Pacific Bell in 2000.

A year later the tournament left Los Angeles and traveled up the freeway to Valencia Country Club. That was also the same year it was coupled on the calendar with the Toshiba Classic.

The move worked for the first couple of years, but then attendance seemed to dip. By this point AT&T; had taken over SBC and the tournament changed its name again, this time to the AT&T; Classic.

In many ways, though this event has had as much drama as the Toshiba Classic. The last three years there have been a playoff to decide the winner and since it is now the week after Toshiba, most of the strong field that goes to Newport Beach Country Club, travels up Interstate 5 to Valencia Country Club.

Some of the winners of this tournament include Jim Colbert, Gil Morgan, Tom Purtzer and Tom Kite.

But this was the last year for AT&T; and the company said it would not renew its contract. That leaves the tournament in jeopardy of not returning if a sponsor is not found.

With this economy and the business climate shaky at best, many companies are shying away from any major fiscal involvement at sporting events.

“The city has been and will continue to look for a sponsor,” Santa Clarita City Councilman, Bob Kellar told the Signal Newspaper during the week of the tournament. “This is probably the single (biggest) event years after here in (Santa Clarita) in terms of economic development for the community. From an economic development perspective, we estimate it being in the 5 to $7 million range.”

The Champions Tour said there are discussions with sponsors but would not elaborate and it sounds like those discussions are informal. If the tour can’t find a sponsor then the tournament would most likely be moved or fall off the schedule. That would affect the Toshiba Classic.

Right now Toshiba enjoys one of the best fields for a non-major championship, but if the event was the only one at that date on the west coast, some golfers might not want to make the trip out here if they are not going to have a place to play close by the following week.

The schedule is two events in Florida at the beginning of February and then a week off before Toshiba. Then two weeks in Southern California and a week off before the next event.

If there is no AT&T; Classic, Toshiba is an island on the tour calendar. Three west coast events, one in Oregon, one in Washington and another at Pebble Beach run concurrently, but that is in August.

The answer might be take the Pebble Beach event and move it to March, but weather is a consideration. The other possibility might be to move the Toshiba to August, but tournament officials enjoy the March date they have.

One thing is for sure, something will have to be done if the AT&T; Champions Classic doesn’t return if Toshiba is going to continue to be a premier event.

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursday. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].