West looks to add life to PGA event MORGANTOWN — For a guy who just revealed he’s been suffering from atrial fibrillation for 40
years and that it eventually drove him out of his job running the Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry West has been a busy man.He’s bounced around the country receiving awards, doing speaking engagements and generally living a hectic existence for a man who was supposed to be retired.Now, it has been announced that at 71 he is making a comeback.Neither Kobe Bryant nor LeBron James need worry, for West is taking his talents to the PGA. A skilled golfer, West’s comeback will not be as a player but as the new executive director of the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.Anyone who believes this is ceremonial post doesn’t know Jerry West, for when he takes something on he goes at with everything he has.The announcement made in Ponte Vedra, Fla., by the PGA said West will “educate the community about the Northern Trust Open and all that it has done and will do for Los Angeles and “will work to further engage the community through public appearances and speaking engagements and drive leads, both in sales and support.”West’s presence will give new prestige to a tournament that has long been a mainstay on the Tour but has lost prestige in recent years.It began as the Los Angeles Open in 1922 and has been played at the exclusive Riviera Country Club every year but one since. Its champions include Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson, who won the last renewal in February.Attendance, however, was only 30,000, and David Pillsbury, PGA Tour executive vice-president, told the Los Angeles Times that “L.A. is the second biggest market” and weekend attendance “should be 50,000.”West will work to revive the tournament.“The Northern Trust Open is more than a golf tournament,” said West, who played all 14 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers after finishing his legendary career at West Virginia University. “It’s an opportunity to bring all of L.A. together to make an impact on this great city, to grow the programs associated with the event — those that help children across the city and those that are so desperately needed, especially in these economic times. It’s an honor to become a part of the Northern Trust Open and work to make this event the absolute best in the world.”In golf there is one surefire way to improve attendance, and that is to make sure that Tiger Woods is in the field, a priority for West.“Tiger used to come to Lakers games when I was there, so I got to know him a little bit,” West told the L.A. Times. “Let’s just put it this way: It would really be nice to see him come back to this tournament. We’ll be working on that.”West will also work to improve other areas of the event, trying to make it more fan friendly, improving seating, parking and food.“The goal is to raise the profile of this great event,” West said. “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.”The 2008 L.A. tournament raised $1.3 million charity, far short of the amount raised in such smaller cities as Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas, who took in more than $5 to $9 million for charity.“I’m going to be 71 soon and at this point in my life giving to others is something I get a lot of satisfaction out of. I’m hopeful we can get this whole thing going in the right direction.”E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzelhotmail.com. More from the WVU Sports section