Golf:

The news that an LPGA event was coming to Southern California brought both hope and intrigue.

The JoongAng Broadcasting Corporation group announced a deal with the LPGA that would have an event in the area for the next five years beginning in 2010.

But no location was announced and speculation began almost immediately as to where it would be.

So to further fuel the gossip I thought about the area courses and if they could or would host an LPGA event.

The natural location would be Mesa Verde Country Club. The 50-year old country club has hosted several PGA and LPGA events.

It was the first Orange County course to get a professional event, the 1959 Orange County Open Invitational. It held three more Opens and a professional event called the Haig in 1968, but it wasn’t until 1979 until professional golfers came to the club.

The LPGA held its Kemper Open at the club from 1979-1981 and then the LPGA’s Uniden came from 1984-86.

The club did host a Senior PGA Tour event for a year in 1995, but had little interest in hosting professionals after that.

The only problem with MVCC hosting an event is parking. Tucked into a subdivision filled with houses would cause a logistical problem with all the cars. A shuttle system would have to be set up.

Head Professional Tom Sargent said the club has been approached by people recently to gauge the club’s interest.

“I don’t know if we have interest with our members to host an event,” Sargent said. “We’re logically the course to look at, but I’m not sure there is enough support.”

Another local course that has hosted a professional event is Pelican Hill. The 36-hole facility held the 2000 Hyundai Team Matches and while golfers such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Juli Inkster and Fred Couples raved about the course, it was tough from a spectator’s standpoint.

The facility sprawls through a canyon, making it difficult for the gallery to walk 18 holes. Many of the fans set up on holes closer to the clubhouse, not wanting to trudge out to the further reaches of the property.

Big Canyon Country Club would be a good choice, but the members are reluctant to host an event that would force them to give up the club for a week or more. The facility did host the 2000 USGA’s Women’s Mid-Am, but it was a much more low key event.

It’s too bad more people aren’t exposed to the golf course. It was the first course to give Tiger Woods an honorary membership and he enjoyed playing there because the greens mirrored ones at PGA Tour events.

With a new multi-million dollar clubhouse and Fashion Island nearby for parking, Big Canyon would be close to perfect for a place to play a professional event.

Another perfect place who has a recent track record of success would be Newport Beach Country Club.

The home of the Toshiba Classic, a Champions Tour event, has been held at the club since 1996.

While the club has successfully hosted that event, holding two tournaments in the same year would be too taxing on the club.

It’s not fair to the NBCC members to ask them to give up their club not once, but twice in the same year.

That leaves Santa Ana Country Club, which may be the most compelling of all the facilities. The course, which measures nearly 6,400 yards, could easily accommodate the women. Parking could be taken care of by utilizing the nearby fairgrounds lot and shuttling people over.

It is still unknown where the new LPGA event will be held but each of the courses in the Newport Beach/Costa Mesa area makes a compelling case for being a host.

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays. He may be reached by e-mail at nolimepublishing@aol.com or by regular mail at P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.