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Lakers legend Jerry West to run Riviera Country Club's top event
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Updated: Thu 5/28/2009 8:24 am
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Hoping to boost the fortunes of Los Angeles' most storied golf tournament, Lakers legend Jerry West will become the executive director of the Riviera Country Club's Northern Trust Open, the PGA Tour is expected to announce today.
"The goal is to raise the profile of this great event," West said during an interview this week at his Bel Air home. "We want this to be a tournament people really want to go see, with an even better feel to it, and we want to raise a lot more money for charity. Los Angeles has just given me so much over the last 40 years, and this is my chance to give back."
The tournament, established in 1922 and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, has a legendary history. Its champions include such all-time greats as Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and current title-holder Phil Mickelson. It was also one of the first pro events to allow non-white golfers.
But PGA Tour officials have watched its prominence fade, particularly in terms of the buzz it creates within Los Angeles. Attendance has dropped steadily over the last decade, said David Pillsbury, a PGA Tour executive vice president. When the tournament was last played, in February, about 30,000 people watched a final weekend duel won by Mickelson. Given that "L.A. is the nation's second biggest market," Pillsbury noted, the weekend attendance number figure "should be 50,000."
West, a skilled golfer with a deep love for the game, said he hopes to make the Northern Trust "a happening . . . an event people would be looking forward to all year long."
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