CLOUDS DON'T RAIN ON PARADE OF GOLF FANS CROWDS STILL ENTHRALLED BY SBC CLASSIC.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

VALENCIA - The SBC Classic couldn't escape a spell of wet weather Sunday as damp, gray skies and the scent of wet grass clouded the annual golf tournament's final day.

The weeklong PGA Champions Tour event had enjoyed sunshine and summerlike heat until a marine layer that hung over most of Los Angeles for much of the week gained strength early Sunday and hopped the Santa Susana Mountains into the Santa Clarita Valley.

Tournament volunteer Larry Smith stayed warm and alert with his own bottle of hot coffee tucked beneath an umbrella by the third hole.

``It's been a little damper,'' said Smith, 73, of Valencia. ``In fact, I came here in shirt and shorts. I live close enough to run home and change.''

Despite temperatures in the 60s and occasional drizzle, hundreds of spectators still crowded Valencia Country Club to view Des Smyth claim victory by shooting a 68 - 4-under-par - on the third day, finishing with six birdies.

Vic Nardiello, 58, of Castaic knew what he was getting into when he arrived at the course.

``When I took the dogs out for a walk, it was drizzling,'' he said. ``I like today's weather; it's cooler.''

Before the wet spot, the tournament executive director, Brian Fitzgerald, said attendance had been on track Saturday to exceed last year's. The event has raised $125,000 for local charities - the bulk going to the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation - and achieved roughly 15 percent growth in sponsorships and vending receipts, he said.

``What we're seeing is the steady growth of the event,'' he said. ``We've noticed interest in the Champions Tour has flattened, but we continue to grow. ... We'll continue to try and grow it.''

Tournament officials also are working to renew the contract with Valencia Country Club, Fitzgerald said. The Champions Tour can remain at the local course until 2006 and is open to signing at least through 2008, if presented with the right deal.

``We're looking for a contract that would mirror the agreements for the PGA tour - an agreement that would roll over every year,'' he said. ``We want to get together with Valencia and connect with them.''

Back on the course, Heath Fagan, 35, and his father-in-law, Don Nikkinen, 60, marveled at some precise shooting. The Simi Valley duo usually attend the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, but last month's rains kept them away.

``We couldn't think of making that drive to L.A.,'' said Fagan, who didn't mind the weather Sunday. ``A bad day at golf is better than a good day at work.''

Nikkinen, who has played golf for some 40 years, finds a sense of peace in the game.

``You're playing against yourself,'' he said. ``And living in the city, you get away from the crowds.''

``That's one of the things about it,'' Fagan added. ``You're getting away from the everyday stress and get to be with yourself for a while. And you could always be better - a couple of strokes better.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Mark McNulty hits out of first-hole sand Sunday in the SBC Classic. On Hole 18, he missed a chance to tie winner Des Smyth.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer