Marianne back in the hunt

Santa Ana Country Club’s Marianne Towersey (Newport Beach), the

Newport-Mesa community’s all-time leader in club championships with

18 and a four-time Tea Cup Classic champion, is among the exempt

players for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship Saturday

through Thursday at Mid-Pines Inn & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.

Last year as a rookie on the senior circuit, Towersey earned

medalist honors at the U.S. Senior Am at Allegheny Country Club in

Sewickley, Pa., where she reached the match-play quarterfinals to

gain her exemption into this year’s championship.

Carol Semple Thompson, the three-time defending champion, will be

shooting for her seventh career United States Golf Association title.

She’s three behind all-time record holder Bobby Jones, who won nine

championships.

Towersey has enjoyed a sensational year, winning three prestigious

titles -- the California Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at

Bayonet Golf Course in Monterey, the Women’s Golf Association of

Southern California title at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club

in Calimesa and Tea Cup Classic VI on her home course Sept. 4.

Furthermore, Towersey has posted some career-best rounds in 2002,

including a women’s course-record 68 at Newport Beach Country Club in

early August and her first sub-70 round at the venerable Santa Ana

Heights private course -- the oldest golf club in Orange County and

one of California’s fewest golf-only country clubs. Towersey carded a

3-under 69 at Santa Ana Country Club on Aug. 22, the lowest round

ever recorded by a female amateur (LPGA Tour pro Pearl Sinn holds the

women’s course record at 63).

This year, Towersey also won her 18th Santa Ana women’s club

championship in 21 years becoming the area’s all-time leader, for men

or women, in club titles -- breaking a tie at 17 with Dee Dee White

of Newport Beach Country Club. Towersey is also the women’s

course-record holder at Big Canyon Country Club.

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Former two-time Newport Classic Pro-Am champion R.W. Eaks has not

only cracked the Senior PGA Tour, he’s threatening to smash the

Senior Tour record for driving distance. The Senior Tour rookie holds

a 294.5-yard average off the tee, well above the 1997 tour standard

of 290.7 set by John Jacobs.

The former Newport Classic, which was held from 1975 to ’97 at

Newport Beach Country Club, served as a unique two-day mini-tour

event for 23 years and played host to several future PGA Tour stars.

Only Clark Dennis (1992-93) and Eaks (1995-96) won back-to-back

Newport Classic titles.

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Newport Beach Country Club head pro Paul Hahn has been named

Merchandiser of the Year by the Southern California PGA in the

private course category, while Bobby Heath earned the section’s top

merchandiser award in the public course category. Hahn and Heath will

be honored at the section’s annual awards banquet Nov. 24 at La Jolla

Country Club.

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On the heels of last week’s golf column, in which the Costa Mesa

Firefighters Association Charity Golf Tournament was featured, Costa

Mesa Fire Station No. 5 Caption Doug Wilson said “we actually had

some people who had seen the article and called to make a donation

(to the association’s charity fund).”

The golf tournament, which is Monday at Costa Mesa Golf & Country

Club, is open to players for only $100, a cost that includes golf

with cart, dinner banquet, auction, door prizes and contests. A

shotgun start is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.

Details: (562) 431-3768 or (909) 336-1830.