Jones Cup: Chris Veitch -- Spare time

Richard Dunn

SANTA ANA HEIGHTS - There are golfers who pour their heart and soul

into the game and can’t play enough.

Then, there are players like Chris Veitch, for whom tee-time frequency

is not an issue, but the manner in which one completes a round.

If there’s hardware to be hoisted after playing the last hole, who’s

to criticize the means to the top?

“If I play golf more than three days in a row, I get very tired of

it,” said Veitch, who has a tendency to win wherever soft spikes are

encouraged these days.

“I’ll play maybe three times a month, mostly at Santa Ana Country

Club.”

Veitch, who tries to play as many tournaments as possible, will be

among the Great Eight in the inaugural Jones Cup Friday at Newport Beach

Country Club at 1 p.m. But you’d never know it if you watched Veitch

practice.

That’s because, he doesn’t.

“I practiced a lot until about age 30, then work and family took over,

but for some reason I’ve been able to hold onto (a consistent game),” he

said. “(I’ve been able to win tournaments) even with a minimal amount of

practice and minimal amount of playing. I don’t know why.”

Veitch will gladly take golf’s blessing of making par.

“I’m not terribly long, (but) I’d say I’m kind of consistent (off the

tee),” said the four-time Santa Ana men’s club champion, who has won

three straight, including the 2000 title on May 6.

“I don’t putt lights out and I’m not prone to make a large number of

birdies. I guess the best part of my game is that I try to make as few

mistakes as possible ... I play the golf course. Par’s a good score.”

Veitch, a 15-year member at SACC who captured his first men’s club

championship in 1994, qualified for the California State Amateur at

Pebble Beach his first year playing at Santa Ana, 1985. Since then,

Veitch has qualified for the state amateur four other times.

Veitch won the 1998 and ’99 Newport Beach city amateur titles at the

Newport Beach Open, but did not play in 2000 to defend his championship.

A late bloomer in golf who grew up in Northern California, Veitch made

his high school golf team his senior year at Menlo School, then tried to

play at USC, until he saw the games of Trojan players Craig Stadler and

Scott Simpson.

“They made me realize that college golf should not be in my plans,”

said Veitch, who works in property management, after majoring in PR at

USC, and lives on the Balboa Peninsula.

“It’s a weird deal. I started playing when I was 15, and I was better

at age 25 than 15. Then I was better at age 35 than 25, and I’m probably

better at age (46) than 35.”

The youngest amateur in the Jones Cup, Veitch has never carried a

handicap index of higher than 3 for the last 20 years.

He’ll tee it up with partner Mike Reehl, Santa Ana’s Director of Golf

and head pro, in the ultimate community pro-am. The two have played

together in two-man formats before.

Veitch is also familiar with his amateur competitors, especially Mesa

Verde Country Club’s Pete Daley and Big Canyon Country Club’s Steve

Collins.

“I think the favorites would have to be Kelly Manos (Big Canyon head

pro) and Steve,” Veitch said. “They’re both very strong players. It

should be fun. Getting (the men’s club champions together for a friendly

round of 18 holes) has actually been something Steve Collins and I, and

also Pete Daley, have kicked around. Pete and I kicked it around a couple

of years ago.”

Welcome to the new breed of community newspapering. Presto. The Jones

Cup is here.

(Newport Beach Country Club’s Bob Kraft is the other amateur in the

field.)

The Jones Cup is a two-man, better-ball gross championship involving

the four private clubs in this newspaper’s circulation. At stake are

community bragging rights and a magnificent perpetual trophy, while

amateurs gain instant fame and head pros are put under the gallery

spotlight.

Created by the paper’s sports department, the Jones Cup is the brand

new men’s competition in the Fletcher Jones Motorcars/Daily Pilot Club

Championship Series, which launched the Tea Cup Classic for women in

1997.

The Jones Cup is named after the only benefactor the series has had,

and includes a pro-am team from each club. Players are selected by their

respective clubs. Admission to the Jones Cup is free.

Prior to tee time at the Jones Cup, names of the clubs will be drawn

out of a hat to determine which two clubs will play in a foursome.

Newport Beach Country Club President Jerry Anderson will serve as the

rules official.

Similar to the popular Tea Cup Classic, the Jones Cup will feature

hole-in-one prizes on all par-3 holes, including a 2000 Mercedes Benz

ML320, a sports utility vehicle reportedly valued at $40,195, on NBCC’s

signature hole No. 17.