Of East And West--Tournaments That Is

      I am a Californian by birth. I grew up with all that is West Coast but I have a sensitivity for that which is East Coast as well. My father was from Ansonia, Connecticut and I still have family on the East Coast.  You just can't get a great pizza out here but things kind of even out because you can't get decent Mexican food on the East Coast. One thing truly bothers me and that is that there is an East Coast bias in the way this country is viewed, especially in sports.
     The Forty Niners are never supposed to contend for anything (Yes, I know they are not what they should be right now, but we will just leave it there.) but seem to always be in the thick of things.  How many Super Bowls have they won?  And the Giants, how many World Series Titles have they won in the last five years and weren't even considered to place.  The A's have come close, but just haven't gotten over the hump. What is a Dodger, by the way?
     The same thing has been true for a long time with the PGA tour.  Golfers generally don't want to come out here beginning with the Hawaiian tournaments and play in the West Coast swing.  To most of them, the tour begins in Florida.  That's on the East Coast, isn't it?  Big names on the tour would very rarely come out and play the early tournaments held here on the West Coast and many of them opt out for tournaments like The Dubai Open  Yes you did have a few such as Phil and even Tiger would play in San Diego, but it was rare that big names would come out to play the great historical tournaments such as The LA and San Diego Opens and many would even skip "The Clambake" or AT&T as it is known now.
     I'm not sure what the fields look like for this year's West Coast swing.  It seems as though they are getting better as some of the bigger names are deciding to play in some of the tournaments.  The Phoenix Open had a good field as players love to play the course, especially number 16 with it's huge gallery.  It is a shame that many players opt out of some of the wonderful traditional tournaments here especially in California like The AT&T.  San Diego's Farmer's Insurance Open is seeing a resurgence and that is a good thing, especially since Tiger Woods enjoys the tournament and Torrey Pines is one of his favorite courses. Phil Mickelson's involvement in the old Bob Hope Desert Classic--which has a new sponsor by the way--is also great for West Coast golf. Come on guys, we fans here on the West Coast deserve to see you play.
     With the advent of the FedEx point system, it is good to see that the West Coast swing is becoming important again. However, it will take time for it to regain the prestige it once had when all the big names like Palmer, Player Trevino and Nicklaus would not miss it. I realize that golf was different back then and in many cases a missed tournament was a missed pay check. The big names in golf need to come out and be seen here on the west. Its good for the fans here on the West Coast and good for golf in general. Golf is pretty big out here and these tournaments are played on some wonderful courses.  Welcome back and we hope to see more of you out here in January and February. The weather is nice and the money is good.

Ah yes, San Diego.  OK, so this is Coronado but San Diego is across the bay.