Golf: Tourney reaches milepost

Richard Dunn

It can make you feel old knowing the Costa Mesa City Championship

will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year at the Costa Mesa Golf &

Country Club.

The championship, formerly known as the Will Jordan Classic, typically

draws the top amateurs in Orange County and enjoys some of the best

public golf lore in county history.

Future major championship winners on the PGA Tour, Scott Simpson and

Mark O’Meara, won Costa Mesa city titles in the 1970s, while the inaugural champion, Jim George, owns the distinction of playing in every

championship.

The field is limited to 320 golfers in several divisions. The two-day

event will take place Aug. 10-11 at the Los Lagos and Mesa Linda courses.

Mike Carpenter of Big Canyon Country Club is the defending champion,

after shooting 66-71--137 to win the 2001 Costa Mesa City Championship by

two strokes over runner-up Jeff Coburn. Ed Susolik of Costa Mesa shot

70-70--140 to finish third. Susolik’s 2-under 70 on Los Lagos was the

lowest score in the final round.

The championship, which has only had two back-to-back winners in 29

years, features $10,000 in prizes. There are five flights, including a

senior division. The lowest handicap index for the past year will be used

and a $175 entry fee will be charged, which includes greens fees for both

days, tee prizes, awards and a barbecue both days.

For more details on this year’s championship, visit the Costa Mesa pro

shop or call (714) 540-7500, ext. 3 or 108.

O’Meara, then of Mission Viejo, won the 1979 Costa Mesa championship a

week after winning the U.S. Amateur Championship in Cleveland, Ohio.

The late Joe Costello, who started the popular Will Jordan Classic in

1973 when he was president of the Costa Mesa men’s club, once said

O’Meara’s victory in ’79 as one of the championship’s greatest moments.

“(O’Meara) drove all the way from Cleveland to Costa Mesa to play in

this tournament,” Costello said. “That’s how important this tournament

was to O’Meara.”

That year, O’Meara won a two-hole playoff against Brad Greer and,

shortly thereafter, turned pro. O’Meara won the Masters and British Open

in 1998.

But O’Meara isn’t the only former Costa Mesa city champion to reach

golf’s pantheon.

In 1974, the second year of the event, then-USC standout Scott Simpson

won at Costa Mesa, defeating, of all people, his father, Joe, on the 18th

hole with a 45-yard wedge shot to within four feet of the flag.

Simpson, who sank the four-footer to win that year, won the 1987 U.S.

Open.

John Wardrup (1990-91) and Bryan Saltus (1995-96) are the only

back-to-back winners.

Mesa Verde Country Club’s Peter Daley, who will play in Jones Cup III

with Mesa Verde head pro Tom Sargent on July 26 at Big Canyon, is gearing

up for the Canadian Senior Amateur in Winnipeg, Manitoba, beginning July

8.

After Jones Cup III, Daley will play in the British Senior Amateur at

Woodall Spa in London.

The Orange County Associates of the House Ear Institute announced that

its 13th annual Bob Hope & Dr. Howard House Golf Tournament will be Sept.

16 at Pelican Hill Golf Club.

The tournament, under the direction of honorary chair Elizabeth

Vincent of Newport Beach, will host an array of celebrities, including

Norm Crosby, Jonathan Banks, Florence Henderson, Phyllis Diller, Nanette

Fabray and special guest Rush Limbaugh.

“We anticipate at least 144 players participating in this year’s

event,” tournament director Ron Osbrink said. Details: (714) 390-4230 or

(949) 643-9260.

Richard Dunn’s golf column appears every Thursday.