Golf: Newport Beach Open ends after seven years

Richard Dunn

The reasons are many, but money seems to be the bottom line --

surprise, surprise -- in the termination of the Newport Beach Open golf

tournament.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce event, which was sponsored by

Tommy Bahama the last few years and featured purses of $10,000 for

professional golfers, had too many obstacles to overcome to go on after

seven years.

Played at Newport Beach Country Club, the event was moved up from May

to April last year because of logistical problems, but with Tommy Bahama

pulling out as title sponsor this year, it was the beginning of a

snowball affect in terms of the event ultimately coming to an end.

It’s a sad day for Newport Beach golf.

The tournament played host to more than 200 amateurs and pros in

morning and afternoon rounds, with the pros battling for cash and prizes

in the first shotgun.

In addition to losing the golf tournament, the chamber also forfeits

the pre-tournament Casino Night, an exciting part of the fund-raiser

week.

On its way to becoming a reputable mini-tour event, the Newport Beach

Open not only promoted a “Newport Beach city champion,” but the pros who

played in the event thought it was an ideal 18-hole tournament.

“This is a first-class event. I wish there were more tournaments like

this out there for guys like me,” 43-year-old pro Fred Stamey said last

year, after finishing tied for first with Mike Fergin at 4-under 67, then

losing in a three-hole playoff.

While the event appeared to have all the amenities for the golf pro

looking to win a couple hundred dollars for a day’s outing, it came up

short last year in player recruitment. Only 18 played in the pro field.

There’s an outside chance the event could return in the future, an

insider said Wednesday, but don’t hold your breath.

Mesa Verde Country Club was asked recently to host the 2003 U.S.

Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, but politely turned down an offer

from United States Golf Association because of the timeline on the $7

million clubhouse renovation.

While the Mesa Verde clubhouse is scheduled to be completed in

December or January, often times projects of that magnitude finish a

little later than expected, and, with the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in

the summer, the club didn’t want to cut it too close if construction ran

over.

“We would have been filling in for a club that had previously

committed and fell out,” Mesa Verde head pro Tom Sargent said.

The club also continues to entertain discussions about hosting an LPGA

Tour event.

Mesa Verde hosted the LPGA Kemper Open from 1979-81 and the LPGA

Uniden Invitational from 1984-86.

In 1995, Mesa Verde prepared in less than five months for the

inaugural Toshiba Senior Classic on the Senior PGA Tour, which has been

played at Newport Beach Country Club since 1996.

Under Mesa Verde golf committee chairman Bill Wallace, the Costa

Mesa-based equity-owned club successfully hosted Orange County’s first

Senior Tour event.

Mesa Verde has also hosted the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur Championship

in 1993 and last year’s Western Regional Girls Junior America’s Cup

matches.

Geoff Cochrane, assistant pro at Santa Ana Country Club and formerly

of Mesa Verde, and four-time Santa Ana men’s club champion Chris Veitch

shot 65 in the Metro Chapter qualifier for the Southern California PGA

Pro-Scratch Championship.

The SACC team played at Friendly Hills Country Club in Whittier (par

70). Cochrane and Veitch finished third out of approximately 50 teams and

won $600.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.