Celebrities, Pros Play at Oakmont

Oscar nominee James Garner, who plays to a five handicap at the Bel Air Country Club, heads a strong field of pro-am entries in today’s GNA/Glendale Federal scrambles tournament at the Oakmont Country Club.

Garner will tee off at 12:14 p.m. with LPGA tour rookie Tammy Fredrickson of Pasadena.

Other prominent amateurs in the 18-hole prelude to the $250,000 tournament include entertainers Dinah Shore, Jamie Farr, Mac Davis, Jim Lange and Rick Dees, and football coaches Chuck Knox and John McKay.

Shore, whose own tournament is scheduled April 3-6 at Mission Hills, will play at 8:57 a.m. with Shelley Hamlin and John Argue of Oakmont, former Southern California Golf Assn. president.

The professional field, headed by defending champion Jan Stephenson, is equally as impressive. Thirty-one of this year’s 35 leading money winners are entered.

Among the 144 starters Thursday will be Mary Beth Zimmerman, this year’s only two-tournament winner; Juli Inkster, last week’s winner in Hawaii; Kathy Whitworth, golf’s all-time winner with 88 victories; JoAnne Carner, the LPGA’s all-time money winner with $1,950,629; Patty Sheehan, Amy Alcott, Hollis Stacy, Pat Bradley and Laura Baugh.

All are also entered in the pro-am.

Oakmont, the site of a PGA tournament won by Ben Hogan in 1948, will play 6,256 yards for the women. Hogan shot a final-round 64 and won $2,400. First prize this week will be $37,500.

Stephenson’s winning score of 290, two over par, was the highest winning total last year, but the course--rated the most difficult on the tour last season--has been shortened.