Senior Tournament Will Leave Rancho Park for Wilshire

The 1995 Ralphs Senior golf tournament is moving to the Wilshire Country Club after five years at the Rancho Park Golf Course, tournament officials said Wednesday.

The $800,000 tournament will be held Oct. 20-22 on the Wilshire Country Club’s 6,531-yard, par-71 course, the site of the L.A. Open four times from 1928 to 1944.

The city of Los Angeles, which operates Rancho Park, wanted the tournament to return but at a higher fee to compensate for revenue lost because of diminished play by the public.

The tournament disrupted play at Rancho Park for about two months. The city, however, could not reach an agreement with tournament sponsors, said Marty Tregnan, president of the L.A. Municipal Golf Assn.

“The public wouldn’t have minded a disruption of a week or two, but two months while they prepared and had the tournament was just too much,” he said. “The play was down because people had to play alternate greens and weren’t able to play the regular course.”

Tournament director Laurie Petersen said, “We are pleased to have worked with them, but we desperately needed a new clubhouse and the Wilshire Country Club has magnificent facilities.”