The California State Amateur is heading South
By: TOM SHERIDAN - Staff Writer
Westward ho for Pernice | ∞
Tom Pernice, Jr. carded his best round of the year on the PGA Tour on Saturday at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
His 6-under 65 was one stroke off the low round of the day (Mark Calcavecchia shot a 64) and helped him to a tie for 20th. Pernice has made the cut in each of his three tour events this year, tying for eighth at the Sony Open of Hawaii and coming home in a tie for 49th at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla.
The Murrieta resident is staying busy on the West Coast. He is also teeing it up at AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this week and intends to play in Los Angeles next week.
One tournament he didn't enter was the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which would be a convenient event for him to play, less than two hours from home.
"With the new rotation and the new golf courses, I didn't like the direction they were going in out there," Pernice said. "The players enjoyed the old-style courses."
Pernice had played in the Hope in each of the previous nine seasons, making the cut eight times and recording five top-30s.
In the back of his mind, Pernice has an eye on the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson at the end of February. That field is made up of the top 64 players in the World Golf Rankings. Currently, Pernice sits at No. 139 on the list.
Headin' south
The California State Amateur has been staged in Northern California for as long as anyone can remember. Not this year.
Instead the state am will be hosted by Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake and Oakmont Country Club in Glendale as part of the California Golf Association's new directive to rotate the tournament between venues in Northern and Southern California.
In two years, the tournament will come to San Diego County with Rancho Santa Fe Country Club, which was the site of last year's U.S. Junior Amateur, playing the role of host club. A second San Diego course will be added for the first two days of stroke play, to accommodate the 156-player field.
"In Southern California we're trying to rotate the tournament around the different Southern California areas," said Bob Thomas, of the Southern California Golf Association. "We're trying to find the very best golf courses in Southern California that are interested in hosting."
This year's defending champion is a Southern Californian, Josh Anderson of Murrieta.
Hall of Fame
Southern Californians Mark O'Meara and Dave Stockton are among the 17 players who are candidates for induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Ballots are distributed to selected golf journalists and other dignitaries, and must be completed and submitted by March 3. Nominees who receive 65 percent of the votes are automatically inducted. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the nominee who receives the most votes, and appears on at least 50 percent of the ballots, will be inducted.
Current tour players Fred Couples, Davis Love III and David Toms are also candidates, as are former TV analysts Ken Venturi and Lanny Wadkins.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange was elected to the Hall in 2007 after collecting 70 percent of the vote. Hubert Green, also a U.S. Open champion, was selected in the veterans category.
More on O'Meara
O'Meara, who grew up in Mission Viejo, is coming off of his first season on the Champions Tour.
"On a scale of one to 10, I'd give myself an eight," said O'Meara, who was a runner-up four times and had three other top-10s. "I was a little disappointed I didn't win. I had not really played well the last three years, but to have four seconds and not to win ...
"I'm seeing progress in my game, but I'm not there yet."
Nissan no more
The PGA Tour event formerly known as the Nissan Open has undergone a change in sponsorship and is now called the Northern Trust Open.
The $6.2-million event will be held next week at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Another new element for the tournament this year will be the Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf outing, held at Riviera on the Sunday before tournament week.
SCPGA Qualifier
Scott Mallory of Temecula shot a 1-under-par 71 in the Southern California Professional Golf Association qualifier for the Northern Trust Open at Glendora Country Club on Monday. That was good for a tie for third, but did not get him into the PGA Tour event.
Scott Mahlberg of San Diego won the lone qualifying spot when he defeated Mike Miles of Long Beach in a two-hole playoff. Mahlberg and Miles each shot 1-under 70s.
Et cetera
Troy Kelly broke par all three days to capture the 54-hole Golden State Tour event at CrossCreek Golf Club last week. Kelly shot 70-70-68----208 to finish at 5 under, one stroke better than six other golfers, and claim the $5,000 first-place check. Kelly, 30, is a mini-tour veteran who qualified for the 2005 U.S. Open. ... The college golf season kicks into gear this month and one of the early season events for women golfers here in Southern California is the UC Riverside Lady Braveheart Classic. It will be held at Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont will be held next Monday and Tuesday. UCR freshman Natalie Guidry (Great Oak High School) is expected to play for the Highlanders.
Contact staff writer Tom Sheridan at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2649, or tsheridan@californian.com.
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