Tea Cup’s poster girl still swinging

Tee time at Mesa Verde Country Club is on the horizon with the

seventh Tea Cup Classic set for Friday, so guess where the attention

focuses?

That’s right, our poster girl since the idea for a showdown of

local women’s club champions began, four-time champion Marianne

Towersey of Santa Ana Country Club.

She’s been the favorite going in on every occasion, although this

time around the home-court advantage may shake things up a little.

We’ll see.

As for Marianne, whose schedule just about defies gravity at the

age of 52, she says she’s playing her best golf.

Like most tournaments she plays on the amateur circuit, she’s the

matriarch at the Tea Cup, but it doesn’t seem to cause her any

concern.

“One of the girls I was playing against at Pinehurst [recently]

was from the South and each time I asked if she or I were away, she’d

keep saying, ‘Yes, mam,’ ” said Marianne.

“It’s kind of shocking to hear your opponent talking like that.

You just have to get over it and beat ‘em, anyway.”

At the recent California State Championships near Monterey, she

found herself competing against Courtney Goebel, a product of Marina

High in Huntington Beach. Not too long ago Goebel and her Marina

teammates were up against Newport Harbor, which was being coached by

Marianne.

The amateur circuit is dominated by the 21-and-under set, accentuated by the ascent of such stars as 6-foot, 13-year-old

Michelle Wie.

“I’ve been thinking of myself as an old fish in a big pond,” said

Towersey.

That’s a pretty deceiving scenario considering she is very close

in her ongoing quest to gain a spot on the state’s amateur team.

If you’ve ever watched Marianne Towersey drive the ball on a golf

course the immediate thought has to center around the “man vs. woman”

agenda. As does Annika, Marianne’s drives and approaches leave little

room for criticism.

Around here the theory quickly boils down to Towersey and Toshiba,

but don’t hold your breath, not that she would shrink to any

challenge. It’s just that nobody’s making an offer.

“I would love to play, as an amateur, but there’s been no

invitation,” said Marianne.

Can you imagine the gallery if she was involved in the customary

duel at Strawberry Farms Golf Club for the two or three open spots in

the field later in the week at Toshiba?

Annika Sorenstam got the sponsor’s exemption to play at the

Colonial and proved a few things, including the fact such stunts will

indeed enhance television ratings and the sponsor can run around

boasting its commitment to “fairness,” etc.

It cost Marianne $100 when Annika failed to make the cut, as

husband Brian won the bet.

Nevertheless, Marianne remains in Annika’s corner and says it’s

not over.

“Everybody wanted my opinion about that,” said Marianne. “I was

just hoping for the best for her. I think it gave tremendous focus to

women’s golf.”

Marianne believes more of the same will be coming, especially with

such items as Wie.

“More of [the younger set] are focusing on weight training,” said

Towersey.

“Some of these girls are amazingly fit at such a young age and are

able to launch their careers way ahead of the rest.”

Marianne is a bit of an expert with the emergence of younger

players. She has some at Newport Harbor where she and Scott Tarnow

basically share duties as boys and girls golf coaches.

A freshman last year on the girls level was Natalie Dranganza and

Marianne has two incoming freshmen boys oozing with promise in Justin

Morehead and Dan Darnell.

All three have unlimited potential, according to Marianne. The

key, of course, is commitment.

While her Sailors may or may not wrap their fingers around the

competition on a team basis, Marianne sees the benefits of the game

far past the win-loss factor.

“It’s very rewarding to encourage them to play well enough where

they can enjoy the game with friends and family in the future. It’s a

great sport in [the world of] business. Knowing the etiquette of the

game, the rules and learning how to keep up.”

There are also such items as potential trips to Florida and Hawaii

for the boys, and continuing the Pelican Cup at Pelican Hill Golf

Club with the ongoing rivalry with Corona del Mar High in the mix.

So it’s a busy agenda for our poster girl.

There’s an opportunity to catch up with her on Friday at Mesa

Verde. Tee time is 1:30 p.m. The public is invited to gallery at no

cost. Mesa Verde’s dress code will be enforced.