Golf: Winning the test of time

Richard Dunn

Even in times like these, when finding tee times and times to

practice aren’t so easy, Akemi Khaiat’s golf game continues to win the

test of time.

As a first-time mother to her 16-month-old son, Anthony, she has

swapped range balls for diapers and golf clubs for strollers.

“I used to practice all the time, but now I’m just trying to find a

way to be a good mother and also be a competitive golfer,” said Khaiat,

one of Japan’s top female amateurs and the newly crowned women’s club

champion at Mesa Verde Country Club.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out -- if I can do that. It’s tough.

You can’t practice all the time.”

For Khaiat to be as sharp as she is now is certainly a testament to

her game, considering her long leave of absence from playing.

“I didn’t play golf last year. I just came back,” said Khaiat, who

added that her “English is not so good,” and that she’s “shy,” but

talking with her on the telephone the other night gave me a completely

different impression. One that included being a dedicated mother, as well

as a committed golfer.

“He’s my first child. And probably my last one,” she said. “I’m not

that young (she turns 38 in 16 days) and I miss my golf tournaments. But

I won’t do anything to jeopardize my first priority, which is him. I’ll

cancel any golf tournament for him ... life used to be golf only, and

business, but now I have a son (with my husband, Laurent) and he’s my

priority.”

With her Mesa Verde title, Khaiat earned a spot in Tea Cup Classic VI

at Santa Ana Country Club Sept. 4.

Defending Tea Cup champion Debbie Albright (Newport Beach Country

Club), three-time winner Marianne Towersey (Santa Ana) and Tea Cup

repeater Olivia Slutzky (Big Canyon Country Club) will join Khaiat in a

much-anticipated Tea Cup foursome.

In her first year of eligibility, Khaiat won the Mesa Verde title by

23 strokes with a four-round 322, ending Denise Woodard’s club-record

streak of six consecutive titles. Woodard was second at 345, followed by

Sue Jane Chi at 352.

Khaiat enters the Tea Cup field with lofty credentials, including

winning medalist honors at the 1996 Women’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

at San Diego Country Club.

Khaiat, who has played in several U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and

Japan Open championships, has been a member of the Japan national team

several times and was elected co-captain of the team at the 1998 World

Amateur in Santiago, Chile.

She’s also a former member at Newport Beach Country Club and Riviera

Country Club. At Riviera, she won club titles all five years in which she

competed. Khaiat won Newport Beach championships in 1992, ’93 and ’94.

The Tea Cup Classic features the four women’s club champions in the

Daily Pilot circulation area and is part of the Fletcher Jones

Motorcars/Daily Pilot Club Championship Series.

The series, held each summer, features the Jones Cup pro-am for men in

a better-ball of partners format.

Sure, there’s less pressure on the male amateurs than the four ladies

in the Tea Cup Classic, who play their own ball for 18 holes in stroke

play. But each event is special in its own way.

In the Jones Cup, hosted by Big Canyon July 26, each club selects a

dues-paying amateur (presumably the men’s club champion) and a full-time

staff member.

The four clubs rotate as host site of the Tea Cup Classic and Jones

Cup, both of which were launched by this sports section to celebrate the

local club champions, promote the game of golf and bring the Newport-Mesa

golf community together on an annual basis.

Jones Cup III is expected to include amateurs Pete Daley (Mesa Verde),

Danny Lane (Big Canyon), Gregg Hemphill (Santa Ana) and Jim Whitaker

(Newport Beach). The official lineups have yet to be established.

Mesa Verde won the inaugural Jones Cup on head pro Tom Sargent’s

memorable flop shot at 18, and Big Canyon captured last year’s title in a

three-hole playoff over Santa Ana.

It was nice to see Fuzzy Zoeller finally win a Senior PGA Tour event

last weekend when he captured the Senior PGA Championship, but it’s still

not as great as his mild tomato barbecue sauce.

Two-time Costa Mesa city champion Bryan Saltus is 28th on the Canadian

Tour money list ($15,036) in seven events.

Two others with local ties -- Eric Woods (Newport Beach) and former UC

Irvine golfer Perry Parker (Dana Point) -- are listed. Parker is 103rd

after eight events ($2,900) and Woods has played in two tournaments and

might have covered his expenses (winning $300).

Woods, a former Corona del Mar High quarterback, captured Canadian

Tour money titles in 1993 and ‘94, after winning the South American Tour

Order of Merit in 1992.

Woods owns and operates The Swing Lab in Costa Mesa, where he gives

indoor private lessons.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.