Khaiat dynasty begins

Akemi Khaiat has a personal trainer at home -- her son, Anthony, who

is 27 months old and a load to lug around.

“By picking up Anthony, my muscles are getting stronger,” said

Khaiat, who won her second straight Mesa Verde Country Club women’s

club championship Tuesday, and whose length on the golf course has

increased the past year, thanks to new equipment and her added brawn.

“This year I’m a much, much better player and I’m hitting the ball

much better.”

Khaiat, who won last year’s Mesa Verde title at 84-79-79-80--322,

captured this year’s championship with a blistering 73-74-74-80--301,

which is believed to be the lowest four-round total ever recorded in

the Mesa Verde women’s club championship.

This year, however, the ladies played from the red tees instead of

the yellow tees, which are 333 yards longer. So that made it nice. “I

was surprised they moved them to the red tees,” Khaiat said. “They

just decided to make it shorter.”

Khaiat, who played in last year’s Tea Cup Classic with a new

driver, has a new set of irons and feels comfortable with everything

in her bag these days.

“It’s not just golf,” said Khaiat, who will turn 39 in June and is

also trying to get in better shape since having her first baby.

After playing in her first Tea Cup Classic, Khaiat went on to tie

for first-round medalist honors at the 2002 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur

at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., in September.

Prior to winning the Mesa Verde title by 20 strokes, Khaiat

trekked back to her homeland, Japan, and won a prestigious state

tournament in a playoff against Sally Okazaki, a former Japanese

amateur champion. “It’s kind of fun to go back and play with all the

great Japanese players,” said Khaiat, whose resume can hold up

against anybody’s.

Khaiat, the medalist at the 1996 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur

Championship at San Diego Country Club, has been a member of the

Japan national team numerous times and was elected co-captain of the

1998 squad at the World Amateur in Santiago, Chile. She’s a former

member at Riviera Country Club and Newport Beach Country Club. She

won women’s club championships all five years she was at Riviera and

produced similar results at Newport Beach, where Khaiat claimed three

club titles from 1992 through ’94.

“At that time, they didn’t have the Tea Cup Classic,” said Khaiat,

who ended Sandi Coffer’s streak of five straight Newport Beach club

championships in ’92.

Khaiat, who ended Denise Woodard’s unprecedented Mesa Verde streak

of six consecutive titles last year, finished this year’s title run

ahead of Woodard (321), Sue Jane Chi (346) and Debbie Brown (353) in

the championship flight. She also retains possession of her own

parking spot at Mesa Verde.

*

Elsewhere in the Mesa Verde women’s club championship, Linda

Schwartz won low gross in the first flight at 265, one shot ahead of

Tommye Steinmeyer. Marion Wilson won low net (216).

Chie Wickham won low gross in the second flight at 283, followed

by Lollie Destatte (288). Kristine Morris won low net (223).

Janice Yu captured low gross in the third flight at 295, trailed

by Bonnie Cosgrove (299), while Jeanne Johnston won low net (226).

Sandy Eberhard the fourth flight’s low-gross winner at 304, while

Masako Omaru (309) was second. Young Han won low net (220).

*

The Tea Cup Classic was launched by this sports section in 1997 to

determine an overall women’s champion in the Daily Pilot circulation,

following a slew of large margins of victory. It was intended to

promote women’s golf, bring the golf community closer together and

celebrate the area’s four women’s club champions in a special one-day

format. The four private country clubs rotate as host site each year.

Mesa Verde is scheduled to host the event this summer. Khaiat is the

second player this spring to qualify for an invitation to play in the

Tea Cup, following Big Canyon Country Club’s Sally Holstein.