Jones Cup keeps fans on edge of their seats

Richard Dunn

In a final look back at Jones Cup III, a riveting final three

holes put an exclamation point on a near-perfect late July afternoon

from a spectator’s point of view.

In the Jones Cup’s better-ball format, the event no doubt serves

as an ultimate community pro-am with nail-biting finishes and players

feeling free to play certain shots more aggressively, especially on

the last hole.

One shot separated the entire field Friday after the par-3 No. 15,

with host and defending champion Big Canyon Country Club and Santa

Ana Country Club tied at even par, and Mesa Verde Country Club and

Newport Beach Country Club at 1-over.

After Big Canyon bogeyed 15 and Newport Beach head professional

Paul Hahn drained a 10-foot downhill birdie putt, following a tee

shot that kicked left toward the flag, all four teams were within a

stroke of the lead. Just the way it was drawn up in the boardroom.

Eventual champion Big Canyon, with Director of Golf Bob Lovejoy

playing on winning teams in back-to-back years, thrilled its home

crowd with amateur Danny Lane coming down the stretch. The Big Canyon

men’s club champion birdied the par-5 No. 16 with a 9-foot putt as

the hosts reclaimed the lead and clinched the perpetual Jones Cup

trophy with a 20-foot birdie putt on the dogleg right par-5 No. 18.

Newport Beach, however, kept fans on edge when Hahn chipped in for

par on the par-4 No. 17. And, with Santa Ana fighting to stay one

shot off the pace, amateur Gregg Hemphill sank a 10-foot par-saving

putt from the edge of the green at 17. Hemphill, the two-time

defending men’s club champion at Santa Ana, entertained the gallery

throughout the round with his approaches to the green, which set up

three birdies on the first six holes.

On Hemphill’s birdie on the par-4 No. 4, his wedge shot from 110

yards hit the back of the green, took one hop onto the fringe, then

zipped back on the green with fast spinning action as the ball headed

toward the hole and passed it by two feet, setting up an easy birdie

chance.

Santa Ana enjoyed a two-shot lead after Hemphill’s third birdie on

the par-5 No. 6, but the wheels came off for Santa Ana at the par-4

No. 9, when it carded a triple bogey -- the second triple bogey on

the front nine, following Big Canyon’s on No. 2. Santa Ana, though,

still had a one-stroke lead at the turn.

Lovejoy and Lane both made a birdie on the front nine to help Big

Canyon back in the hunt after a rough start, then Lovejoy got his

team to even par on No. 10, when he sank a 20-foot, double-breaking

birdie putt. Seeing the line perfectly, Lovejoy pointed at the hole

-- ala Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship -- before his python

birdie putt dropped into the cup.

With its triple bogey in the rearview mirror, Big Canyon fell to

1-under when Lane birdied the par-3 No. 12 and never trailed again,

despite bogeying 15 and forcing a tie at the top of the leader board

with Santa Ana. Big Canyon won at 2-under 70.

The 6,876-yard layout, which played long because of the wind,

caused the first two triple bogeys in Jones Cup history, as well as

the event’s first double bogey, when Newport Beach finished with an

aggressive, go-for-broke 7 on the par-5 18. Hahn yanked a 6-iron

layup shot into the water at 18, then dropped and hit into the water

again, while amateur partner Jeff Wright carded the team’s best score

on the challenging and interesting finishing hole.

“Like I’ve said before, this is a competitive deal and it gets the

juices flowing,” Hahn said of the Jones Cup. “When you’re playing in

something like this, you can really feel it.”

One of Santa Ana Director of Golf Mike Reehl’s best shots came

early in the round, when he ripped an 8-iron from 188 yards out to the fringe on the par-5 No. 2, which set up an eagle attempt.

Mesa Verde, which finished tied for second with Santa Ana at

even-par 72, enjoyed bookend birdies by men’s club champion Pete

Daley, the only amateur to play in all three Jones Cups.

Daley, fresh from the Canadian Senior Amateur Championship,

birdied the first hole after hitting in the right rough. Daley

chipped to within five feet and knocked down the birdie putt on the

par-4 opening hole to give Mesa Verde a fast lead.

The putts didn’t fall for Mesa Verde head pro Tom Sargent, whose

remarkable flop shot on the last hole set up the winning birdie

during the inaugural Jones Cup in 2000 at Newport Beach. In Jones Cup

III, it was Daley with the magic as the senior sensation birdied 13

with a great second shot out of a fairway bunker to within five feet.

Daley also birdied 18 as Mesa Verde dropped to even and tied for

runner-up honors.

* The most notable caddie in the 2002 Jones Cup pro-am field was

Debbie Albright of Newport Beach Country Club.

Albright, the defending Tea Cup Classic champion, carried the bag

for Hahn. She will defend her Tea Cup crown Sept. 4 at Santa Ana

Country Club.

* Wright was blown away by the treatment he received at Big

Canyon during Jones Cup III, including the lunch and post-event

awards presentation and champagne toast.

“I couldn’t believe it. They had signs with our names on them at

the range,” Wright said. “I walked over to the far side and began

hitting balls, then they told me to move over. I had a special place

with my name on it to practice.”

* One big toast should go to Big Canyon, which superbly hosted

Jones Cup III and manages every detail first class.