You won’t find the PGA Tour visiting any really cool old courses this season.
The LPGA is doing just that this week.
The stars of the women’s tour are turning out in the land of the stars — Los Angeles for the ladies version of the L.A. Open.
The historic Wilshire Country Club was built in 1919 and the City Of Angels has grown up around it.
This event should be a visual treat. The course looks like a links course, minus the seaside setting. It was designed and built by Norman Macberth, who was born in 1879 and learned about course layout where nature laid out the best courses in the world — Scotland and England.
You know you’re in Hollywood because you can see the iconic “Hollywood” sign in the hills directly overlooking this part of Los Angeles.
There are 130 bunkers, only 17 less than you’ll find on The Old Course at St. Andrews.
The club was part of the old Hancock Park neighborhood.
Like many suburban neighborhoods in the late 40s and early 50s, Hancock Park was an all-white community.
In August 1948, singer Nat King Cole purchased a house in Hancock Park from Col. Harry Gantz, the former husband of silent film actress Lois Weber. The Ku Klux Klan, still active in Los Angeles well into the 1950s, responded by placing a burning cross on his front lawn. Members of the property-owners association told Cole they did not want any undesirables moving into the neighborhood. Cole famously retorted, “Neither do I. And if I see any undesirables coming in here, I’ll be the first to complain.”
There won’t be any complaints this week as this course represents a unique setting for the women.
Lexi Thompson makes her return after two weeks off. She’s chasing No. 1 Shanshan Feng as is No. 2 Inbee Park.
Nine of the top 10 are on site and just about all of the top 30 players.
