ALCOTT PUTS HER STAMP ON EVENT.

Byline: DAVE SHELBURNE Golf

Amy Alcott addressed a fairway-metal shot on the uphill par-5 first hole at Tarzana's El Caballero Country Club on Monday and was brought instantly back in time.

``I can remember dragging my pull-cart up this fairway as a 9-year-old playing in junior tournaments here,'' she said, then blasted a shot just short of the green and chipped close enough for a conceded putt.

Alcott, 46, has come a long way since her junior days, when she, John Cook and Mark O'Meara were among the brightest young players in Southern California.

She has won the U.S. Women's Open, includes five majors among her 29 LPGA career victories and is a member of that tour's and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Yet, as she returned to El Cab, a short drive from the Santa Monica neighborhood where she first took interest in the game that would make her a Southern California junior legend, Alcott sounded as if she hadn't really come that far in her view of the game.

She always appreciated it, from the days when her mother would drive her to junior tournaments - telling her daughter at the conclusion of every event that it didn't matter what she shot, that she still loved her.

Alcott built on that parental support and the support of junior golf proponents like the late Marty Tregnan of Griffith Park to become not only one of the most successful players of her era but one of the most popular, and one who is starting to come full circle.

While the game has given her so much to appreciate for so long, Alcott is returning the favor these days, helping others to appreciate LPGA golf in the Los Angeles area with a tournament she helped establish here.

The Office Depot, hosted by Amy Alcott, will make its third appearance in the area April 4-6 at El Cab, where Se Ri Pak edged LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam in a thrilling final-round duel last spring. The year before, Sorenstam - who has produced 19 LPGA victories and a round of 59 in her past two seasons on the tour - roared from 10 strokes off the pace on the final day to win the Office Depot in its final session at Wilshire Country Club.

The year before that, the tournament was in Florida, but there was talk of it moving to Los Angeles and Alcott wanted to help it flourish here.

``It was kind of my idea,'' she said of her involvement as host. ``I thought that seeing Betsy King host an event, Nancy Knight was starting to do an event in Atlanta, different players over the years have been involved. So I thought this event, with the City of Hope the tournament beneficiary, had been an event that was around and was on our tour and they were talking about moving it back to Southern California, it just seemed like a natural.''

It's been a decision that's kept Alcott busy, especially during tournament week, when she also competes. But it's also a natural step for her toward the post-playing phase of her golf career, which could find her doing more television commentating, as she did last week at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

``The verdict's out, but I think I enjoyed it,'' she said. ``I think I have the personality for it; it's just letting that come through over the tube.''

More personality is something Alcott said could help an LPGA Tour she believes is already strong in talent but doesn't always get the recognition the skill level of its participants might suggest.

``It's been an uphill battle, but I think women's golf is past the stage where it's constantly compared to men's golf,'' she said. ``I think it's interesting and exciting, and I think there are a lot of good players out there, as long as they're not afraid to show and be personalities and kind of embrace their stardom more and be out there for the public.

``I think that's the thing that concerns me,'' she said. ``During the era that I was playing, there were people like me that jumped in the water or did cartwheels on the green and pumped their first a lot. And if the players just want to hide behind rose-colored glasses on a golf course, that kind of hurts the popularity of the game. But I think the quality of play and the personality is there - it just needs to come out.''

--Names in the game: Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie of Hawaii has received an invitation to play March 27-30 in the first LPGA major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage. ... Se Ri Pak has committed to defend her title in the Office Depot. ... Gene Littler has been named honoree for the Feb. 20-23 Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.

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