NOTEBOOK: MORE HOME COOKING FROM HOT LEHMAN?

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Tom Lehman, who worked as an assistant pro at Simi Valley's Wood Ranch before going on to become PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1996, will make a homecoming at this year's Williams World Challenge in Thousand Oaks.

The $3.5 million event, hosted by Tiger Woods and scheduled for Nov. 27 through Dec. 3 at Sherwood Country Club, will have 12 top golfers shooting for a first-place total of $1 million.

Lehman, ranked No. 7 on this year's PGA Tour money list and No. 12 in the world, won the inaugural Williams event last year at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., shooting 68-65-67-67 for a 72-hole total of 13-under-par 267.

He won by three strokes over David Duval, ending a three-year winless streak by the golfer who completed a leap from the minor leagues to superstar status when he won the British Open in 1996.

``It was a big win,'' Lehman said of last year's Williams championship. ``Even though it was a 12-man field, they were some of the greatest players in the world.''

This year, Lehman is enjoying one of his best seasons, winning the Phoenix Open, placing second in the MCI Classic and finishing among the top 10 in five other events.

He had earned $1.9 million through his first 16 events, which included a tie for fourth in the British Open, a sixth at the Masters and an eighth in the Players Championship.

Woods, who will bid for his fourth major title in less than 13 months at this week's PGA Championship, is the only other player confirmed for the Williams World Challenge.

The Williams tournament continues a long run of PGA Tour offseason specialty events at Sherwood, which hosted the Shark Shootout from 1989 through last year before switching to Florida for this year.

The Thousand Oaks course also hosted last year's Shootout at Sherwood, a match-play event between Woods and Duval, the last two men to hold the world's No. 1 golf ranking.

--WSGA championships: Ed Turner, who won the City Section individual title as a Palisades High freshman last year, added a Western States Golf Association title Saturday at Brookside, shooting 5-over-par 147 on the E.O. Nay and Koehner courses.

Turner and Christine Fernandez, the girls' division age 15-17 champion (143) at Brookside, earned exemption into the PGA Maxfli Junior Championships.

Other Southern California winners in the WSGA championship were Tye Alexander of Long Beach City in boys' college division (137), Mary Jan Fernandez of Tulane in girls' college division (158), Kimberly Lorenzano in girls' 13-14 division, Ryan Chan in boys' 9-10 division and Angelica Samson in girls' 9-10 division.