NEW YORK (AP) &mdash Basketball great Jerry West is coming out of a retirement to join the PGA Tour.
No, not as a player. And even though “Mr. Clutch” once shot a 63 at Bel-Air Country Club, his silhouette is not about to become the new PGA Tour logo as it is for the NBA. West, who spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was hired Thursday as the executive director of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. His job will be to help raise the profile and charitable donations of the tour’s event in Los Angeles. “It’s really about me wanting to help, if I can, to raise the level of interest,” West said. “More importantly, it’s about charity. This city has given me so much support. The only thing I’ve been able to give is my contribution to the Lakers as a player and an executive. “This is my chance to do something for the community that has been so great to me.” The tournament is held at Riviera, one of America’s storied golf courses. It attracts one of the strongest fields among regular PGA Tour events, with Phil Mickelson as its two-time defending champion.
But it has lagged far behind other PGA Tour events in raising money for local charities.