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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend June 11, 2006 The green for the par-3, No. 5 hole at Running Y Resort is submerged after parts of the course became inundated when a dike broke this week on Upper Klamath Lake. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Lott’s a big hit as part of celebrity golf event Tee Talk By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune On the football field, Ronnie Lott hit objects — i.e., receivers, running backs and quarterbacks — with astounding force and frequency. On the golf course, swift, sure contact isn’t quite as regular. "My own game?" he says, repeating a question. Then he laughs. "My friends back home nicknamed me sandlot," Lott says with a chuckle. "That tells you I get in the sand a lot and have trouble getting out. You’d think being from Southern California, sand would be my friend." Advertisement Lott was a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame safety who played 14 years in the NFL, mostly in San Francisco, where he won four Super Bowl championships. He has stories galore from those glorious days, and Rogue Valley residents have been fortunate to hear some of them at Rotary and Linebackers club meetings or during his roughly twice-a-month visits to Medford to check in on his car dealership, Mercedes-Benz of Medford. He’s the first, however, to pooh-pooh his golf pedigree. "My golf background," he says, again mulling a question. "It’s about as good as if I had tried to play quarterback, and that is not good." But it is the marriage of those ingredients — Lott’s star power, his arrival to the area and on the business scene and his passion for golf — that have come together to benefit the Chad Cota celebrity tournament that began two years ago. In recent months, Cota and Co. beseeched Lott to come aboard, and the result is the new-and-improved Chad Cota-Ronnie Lott Celebrity Golf Shootout. The tournament, with morning and afternoon shotgun starts, is Friday at Centennial Golf Club. A dinner and auction precede it Thursday night at Rogue Valley Country Club. Proceeds go to Fellowship of Christian Athletes, area high school athletics, the Bulldog Boxing Club and, new this year, All Stars Helping Kids. The latter is a program founded by Lott in 1989. Lott and Cota will both play, but the former, as you may have guessed, has no delusions about leading whatever team he’s on to victory. Lott lives in Cupertino, Calif., and belongs to The Olympic Club in San Francisco. He carries about a 15 handicap. Asked about his golf highlights, Lott says only that he enjoys every opportunity to get out with his friends — Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Marcus Allen, to name a few — and relish the experience. In fact, he’ll play in Allen’s celebrity tournament on Tuesday, and the timing is such that Allen isn’t expected to reciprocate this year but is a near-certain future participant. As for Joe Montana and Rice, the other leading figures during the 49er dynasty, Lott said he’s often asked if they’ll come. He says he’s hopeful that as the tournament continues to grow, they will be a part of it. Lott has already had an impact, attracting such players as Sterling Sharp, Truck Robinson and Dave Stewart to an impressive list already put together by Cota, tournament director Jim Winans and the rest of the tournament committee. When it was announced a couple of months ago that the two former safeties would join forces, Cota expressed great delight at being aligned with Lott. Lott said he’s no less excited about the opportunity, having admired Cota as a player and, since getting to know him, as a person. "First of all," Lott said, "I’m involved in it because of Chad." They are part of the NFL fraternity, and part of a smaller, "interesting" club, said Lott, referring to defensive backs. "We take pride in that and make sure we can reach out and help out," said Lott. "In this case, I found out what they were doing and what they had already accomplished, and I felt it was important for me to step up and play a bigger role." He also wants to present the athlete beyond the playing field. "We can do a little more than just play sports," he said. THE TOURNAMENT raised $62,000 its first two years, says Winans. The goal this year alone is $75,000. The auction, which is new this year, more teams and fewer expenses should help them reach that goal, says Winans. LOTT WAS INTERVIEWED about the tournament by phone from an interesting venue Thursday evening: field-side seats at Yankee Stadium for a game against the rival Red Sox. "This is sweet," he gushed at one point. "That’s one thing about sports. You get some incredible experiences. I’m sure we’ll have the same thing Friday, with the athletes there and watching them play and perform." THE RUNNING Y RESORT golf course is down to 15 holes, the result of a dike that gave way at midweek and flooded the area, closing Highway 140 and submerging three holes on the course: Nos. 3, 4 and 5. "It’s crazy," said Heather Poore, who works in the golf shop, on Friday. "If you look out the windows of the restaurant, the water’s only about 100 yards from us." The only portions of the three holes that are showing, she said, are the No. 4 tee box, which looks like an island, and the back half of the No. 5 green. The course is still open, playing to 15 holes at a $10 reduction in fees. Certificates that were sold in a promotion offering four rounds with carts for $40 per will not change or be extended, she said. Damage to the course, particularly the greens, could be minimal if the water is pumped out within a couple of weeks, said Poore. If it takes longer, she’s heard, everything might have to be rebuilt. STEPHANIE JOHNS, the former Ashland High standout golfer attending the University of Nevada-Reno, has left the Wolf Pack golf team because of differences with her coach. Johns is uncertain about whether she’ll transfer, says her mother, Joanne, because she thoroughly enjoys Nevada and has a position in public relations with the Silver Sox of the Golden Baseball League. Johns will play in the Cota-Lott tournament and will compete in a couple of national tournaments this summer. With the Wolf Pack, she played the entire fall season, and her 79.3 stroke average for 12 rounds over four events made her one of only three players on the team below 80 by year’s end. Have a local golf story idea. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail Lott�s a big hit as part of celebrity golf event ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. 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