With gas prices spiraling out of control and people being forced to change the way they live because of the economy, it's refreshing to see a golf tournament that's still affordable.

Best of all this tournament -- the Pepsi Little People's Golf Championships -- is right here in Quincy.

This year was the fifth time Rod Wilson has brought one of his son's to the Quincy tournament from Eden Prairie, Minn.

"If you want to go to the tournament and play in the Little People's Pepsi tournament, I don't think that the gas price is gonna deter people that really want to come down here and play. They'll come down anyhow," Wilson said.

The die-hards were in attendance last week. According to Little People's founder and director Nan Ryan, this year's attendance was 648 -- 213 fewer golfers than in 2007.

In addition to the economy, Ryan said the Little People's tournament competes against five major AJGA tourneys, other qualifiers and Publinks tournaments.

"When we started in 1974 there were three other tournaments the whole year," Ryan said. "Now we've got five major tournaments the same week. That tells you how junior golf has grown."

After talking to several of them it seems the consensus is that Little People entry fees are still very reasonable. Prices range from $75 to $195. All of those rates include a Monday practice round, which adds to the value.

"We like to keep it as low as we can," Ryan said. "We sort of operate on a shoestring (budget) and depend on the sponsors. We've always had good support from the Quincyans sponsoring. That's the reason for the lower price."

Let's compare those to the St. Andrews Classic, a FCWT Junior Golf Tour event that will be played on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 in West Chicago.

The entry fee is $399 for that two-day tournament. And you'll have to add $20 to play in the practice round.

There is no denying that the FCWT is a prestigious tour -- thus the high price tag. Those tournaments range in price from $359 to $449

But the Quincy tournament also has plenty of pluses. For example, a Little People champion age six through 14 qualifies for the 2008 Callaway Golf Junior World.

There's no denying the numbers are down. But the people that were in attendance seemed to really enjoy the atmosphere at Westview Golf Course. Many out-of towners were overheard marveling at the fantastic condition the course was in.

While it is a shame to see the attendance fall off, the quality is still at a high level at this event.

"The (talented golfers) are just unreal," Ryan said.

Maybe too much emphasis is put on quantity. And rather we should be focusing on quality.

Which this tournament still has.

-- mgoldberg@whig.com / 221-3367