WOMEN'S GOLF TOUR LINKS UP WITH VALLEY; AREA NAME ADDED TO TITLE OF FEBRUARY'S CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer

The Valley independence movement has spread to the golf links, apparently.

Beginning with next month's tournament, the Los Angeles Women's Championship will be renamed the Valley of the Stars Championship, officials announced Thursday, reflecting the event's new sponsorship by the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley.

Alliance leaders say the group is sponsoring the local tour stop of the Ladies Professional Golf Association this year to draw international attention to the Valley as a separate destination for vacationers and business people coming to Los Angeles.

``We wanted to bring an event to this Valley worthy of international recognition and we discovered there already was an event here worthy of international recognition,'' said William C. Allen, the alliance's president and chief executive officer. ``We hope it will be something that is a great attractor of business and tourism to the San Fernando Valley.''

Allen said the group will be contributing a ``significant'' amount of money to help promote the event at Glendale's Oakmont Country Club, but wouldn't specify the exact amount. Yamaha is the title sponsor.

The tournament's new title mirrors the Valley of the Stars marketing campaign that the alliance unveiled in July during its coming-out party at The Walt Disney Co.'s Burbank studios.

Matsujiro Kawana, president of AJ Sports, the tournament organizer, believes the new promotional arrangement could help boost attendance.

``We are very excited about having the Economic Alliance's involvement in this tournament,'' he said. ``The name change to the Valley of the Stars Championship presented by Yamaha is going to help make this an attractive LPGA event in Glendale that will have strong local ties.''

Added Philip S. Lanzafame, economic development administrator for the city of Glendale: ``It's very important that the Economic Alliance has come in.''

Three other cities in the Valley - Burbank, San Fernando and Calabasas - are also lending support to the tournament, officials said, either in the form of publicity or volunteers.

Allen said the Valley of the Stars theme was selected in part because of the region's contributions to the entertainment industry and also because the area is home to a number of leaders in a range of industries. For example, Sylmar's ``MiniMed is a star of the biotech industry,'' he said.

This will be the third annual visit by the LPGA to Oakmont, nestled in Glendale's Verdugo Hills. The purse for the 1999 championship, which will run from Feb. 8 to 14, is $650,000. The winner will pocket $97,500.

Last year's tournament attracted 37,500 people, an increase of 10,000 over the 1997 tournament.

The defending champion, Dale Eggeling, said she is looking forward to returning to a renamed tournament.

``I can't wait to start the year. I'm so excited that the Economic Alliance has come on board. I always thought we should do something here to honor the stars,'' she said.