Golf: Big Canyon pulls it out

Richard Dunn

SANTA ANA HEIGHTS - At first, Big Canyon Country Club’s Bob Lovejoy

was hesitant about playing in Jones Cup II.

But after winning the men’s golf pro-am Tuesday with amateur partner

Ron Maggard at Santa Ana Country Club in a three-hole playoff against the

host team, Lovejoy is in love with the event.

“I think I’ll be back,” said the Big Canyon Director of Golf, whose

team dropped to 5-under at the par-3 No. 14, capping a four-birdie run on

the back nine as Lovejoy and Maggard built a four-shot lead.

Santa Ana, however, with Director of Golf Mike Reehl and men’s club

champion Gregg Hemphill, rallied to tie Big Canyon and force extra holes.

Hemphill birdied the par-5 No. 15 and par-4 16, then Reehl, whose

15-foot eagle putt at the par-5 18 ran past the hole, birdied 18 coming

back as Santa Ana finished at 4-under 68 with Big Canyon, which bogeyed

16 to open the door.

In the better-ball of partners format, Big Canyon and Santa Ana

returned to the first tee for another showdown.

All four players made par on the par-5 No. 1 and par-3 No. 2, but on

the third playoff hole at 18 -- a dogleg left and great finishing hole

with water on the left and players going for the green in two -- Lovejoy

made birdie to seal the victory.

“Together, as a team, we played really well,” Maggard said. “We had

four birdies in a row (11 through 14). And we had one hole (No. 16) where

we both made bogey.

“We’re thinking, when we get to the 16th tee (with a four-shot lead),

that if we don’t have a heart attack, we’re walking in (with the title).

But, of course, we had to make it exciting.”

On the third playoff hole, Santa Ana didn’t help itself as Hemphill’s

tee shot required a ball retriever in the lake and Reehl’s 5-foot birdie

putt to tie Big Canyon didn’t fall.

“We birdied three of the last four holes, but then I blew it at the

end and went in the water,” Hemphill said. “But it’s fun. It’s a really

fun tournament.

Hemphill, 33, and Newport Beach Country Club men’s club champion

Vinnie Brascia, 33, were considered the young guns in Jones Cup II, going

up against amateur counterparts Maggard, 52, and Mesa Verde Country

Club’s Pete Daley, 61 -- perhaps part of the reason for Lovejoy’s early

apprehension.

But, for the second year in a row, the older guys won. Daley and Mesa

Verde head professional Tom Sargent captured the inaugural Jones Cup last

year at Newport Beach.

The event, part of the Fletcher Jones Motorcars/Daily Pilot Club

Championship Series, almost had a third playoff participant, but Newport

Beach Country Club head pro Paul Hahn’s 10-foot eagle putt at 18 burned

the edge and didn’t fall, as Hahn dropped to his hands and knees on the

green in an emotional finish.

“The putt just fell off at the end,” said Hahn, who reached the green

in two with a 3-wood out of the rough to set up his eagle attempt.

For Big Canyon, which won the perpetual Jones Cup trophy in near

spectacular weather and in front of 350 (total for two galleries), it’s

the club’s second title in the series. Big Canyon women’s club champion

Selby Schriber won the inaugural Tea Cup Classic in 1997.

“It helped getting off to a good start,” said Maggard, who birdied the

first hole, a par-5 dogleg right. “Bob was a little shaky at the start,

then he played good, then I started to play a little shaky. We played

great as partners, except for one hole. It’s an ideal partner format.”

For Santa Ana, which was tied with Big Canyon at the turn at 1-under,

there were no bogeys on its card, but, more importantly, it had a

supportive gallery in tow.

“There were two good galleries and the golf course was in perfect

condition,” Reehl said.

The Jones Cup was created by this sports section as an effort to

celebrate the men’s club champions in the Daily Pilot circulation, while

providing the Newport-Mesa community with a unique opportunity of joining

all four private country clubs in a one-day, 18-hole event.

And, like the Tea Cup Classic for women, the four clubs rotate as host

site and share ownership of the event. In the Jones Cup, each club is

responsible for selecting its own team, as long as the pro is a full-time

member of the staff and the amateur a member of the club.

In the inaugural Jones Cup, one stroke separated champion Mesa Verde

(2-under 69) and runner-up Newport Beach (70), and one shot was the

difference between Santa Ana (even-par 71) and Big Canyon (72).

This year, Newport Beach (3-under 69) finished third, one stroke off

the pace, while Mesa Verde (1-over 73) was unable to keep the perpetual

hardware.

“I played pretty well, but you’ve got to get the putts to drop,” said

Daley, a three-time Mesa Verde winner.

Jones Cup III is tentatively scheduled for Big Canyon next summer.