Golf: Slutzky earns first Tea Cup Classic invitation

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - Big Canyon Country Club’s Olivia Slutzky, whose

amateur golf game has improved tremendously in the last year, won her

first women’s championship Thursday after carding a four-round 325.

Slutzky, whose front-nine scores for the championship flight were

three 38s and a 35, finished ahead of runner-up Martha Redfearn, who shot

351.

Slutzky, 33, has lowered her handicap from double digits to a 3.5 in

about a year.

She qualified for the Women’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship last

October at Big Canyon and shot 78 in the final round of stroke play

(finishing at 84-78--162) to make the 64-player cut into match play.

By winning the Big Canyon title, Slutzky automatically qualified for

the 2001 Tea Cup Classic, which is held each summer at one of the four

private clubs in the Newport-Mesa community and Daily Pilot circulation.

Slutzky will become the fourth different player from Big Canyon to

compete in the Tea Cup Classic in four years, following Selby Schriber,

Sally Holstein and Colette Taormina.

Schriber won the inaugural Tea Cup Classic in 1997, then automatically

qualified the following year, when the golf course at Big Canyon was

being remodeled and the women’s club championship was not played.

Holstein captured the Big Canyon title in ’99 and Taormina won it in

2000, shooting 342 with Redfearn finishing as runner-up.

Marie Gray is Big Canyon’s all-time leader with eight women’s club

championships (1975-76, 1978-’83).

The Tea Cup Classic was started by this newspaper in 1997 to decide an

overall women’s club champion and bring the golf community closer

together.

In addition to Big Canyon, Mesa Verde Country Club, Santa Ana Country

Club and Newport Beach Country Club play for spots in the locally famous

Tea Cup Classic.

The final round of the women’s club championship at Santa Ana is April

27, while Mesa Verde will play its final round on May 1. Newport Beach’s

final championship-flight round is May 18. This year’s fifth annual Tea

Cup Classic will be played at Newport Beach on a date to be announced.