PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Basketball great Jerry West is coming to work for the PGA Tour as the executive director of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera.

His job will be to raise the profile at one of the tour's most storied events.

West is a sports icon in Los Angeles, where the Hall of Fame guard spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"This is my chance to do something for the community that has been so great to me," he said.

The tour will take over management of the Northern Trust Open, which has one of the stronger fields on the West Coast.