Tipton repeats at Big Canyon

BRYCE ALDERTON

Will Tipton is getting used to these dramatic finishes.

The Big Canyon Country Club member who teamed with Bob Lovejoy,

the club’s Director of Golf, to claim the fourth Jones Cup in August

by one stroke, had to endure a playoff after a 72-hole grind.

But it was all worth it.

Tipton survived the rigors of a gallery he said was 100 people on

the final day and won his second consecutive men’s club championship,

outlasting friend Mike Carpenter by one stroke in a four-hole playoff

where aggregate scoring was used.

The win qualifies Tipton, a former USC golfer, to compete in next

summer’s Jones Cup, an annual event that pits the four men’s

champions (or runner-up if the winner can’t play) of Newport-Mesa’s

four private clubs with a member of the golf staff in a better-ball

of partners format. A Big Canyon team has claimed three of the first

four Jones Cups, or three in a row.

Tipton shot 73-72-76-75 to tie Carpenter after 72 holes. Tipton

went 1 up with a birdie at 16 before Carpenter tied with one of his

own at 17. The two then parred 18 to force the playoff. The fourth

and final hole of the playoff was the par-4 ninth. Tipton led by a

stroke as the two stood on the ninth tee.

With wind in their faces, Carpenter hit down the middle while

Tipton pushed his tee shot into the right rough.

With the flagstick auspiciously close to the water hazard fronting

the green, Tipton hit his approach 15 feet to the cup while Carpenter

stuck his second shot six feet away.

Facing a left-to-right downhill breaker, Tipton putted first and

drained the birdie putt.

“[Carpenter] most likely would have made birdie from where he

was,” Tipton said. “Danny Lane, Mike and I are all close friends so

if it wasn’t me, I wanted one of them to win it. We had a good time.

It was good camaraderie.”

The tournament lead changed hands several times, heightening the

suspense and most likely each competitor’s blood pressure.

“Lane started with the lead, lost it, then got it back,” Tipton

said. “It was a physical and mental grind.”

Tipton didn’t find a hazard during the tournament and owed his

victory to conservative play.

“I was conservative when I had to be conservative,” Tipton said.

“I would hit a 2-iron off the tee when in non-tournament play I might

hit a driver. Big Canyon puts a premium on accuracy. There are a ton

of penalty shots out there.”

Tipton routinely boomed drives past his competitors during last

summer’s Jones Cup at Mesa Verde Country Club. Big Canyon doesn’t

afford quite as much leeway.

“If you missed a fairway you would be in a tree instead of

someone’s swimming pool,” Tipton said.

You could say Tipton reversed his playoff fortunes with his most

recent victory.

Three years ago Ron Maggard defeated Tipton on the fourth hole of

a sudden death playoff to earn the club championship. Lane in 2002

and Maggard in 2001 each teamed with Lovejoy to earn Jones Cup

titles.

“I’m still smarting from that one,” Tipton said.

Count Tipton in for next summer’s Jones Cup unless a certain

“bundle of joy” needs his attention. Will and wife Monique are

expecting their first child next month. Will finished painting John

Harold Tipton’s room and anxiously awaits the big day.

“I can’t wait,” Will Tipton said. “We are putting strollers

together, car seats in and learning what diapers to buy. It is

great.”

*

Newport Beach resident Don Dubois fought valiantly, but could not

reach the quarterfinals in the 23rd United States Mid-Amateur at the

Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday.

Dubois defeated Fullerton’s Iain Macdonald, 4 and 2, in the first

round of match play Monday. It took 19 holes, but Dubois reached the

third round with a victory over Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, Calif., in

his first match Tuesday. Later the same day, Nate Smith (Brookville,

Pa.) posted a 1 up win over the Newport Beach resident.

Dubois shot rounds of 71 and 75 (146) -- good for 5-over-par --

during the stroke-play portion of the tournament. Dubois, who

qualified for match play in August’s U.S. Amateur, was in an

eight-way tie for 30th place heading into the first round of stroke

play.

“With no disrespect to Lane, Carpenter or the respective members

[at Big Canyon], Don is one of the best players I have played with,”

Tipton said.

*

Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club will conduct the second session of

its after-school junior golf program from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4.

The session will continue Nov. 11, 18 and 25 at the same time.

Golfers will receive instruction on grip, set up and swing along

with principles of the short game that include chipping, pitching,

sand play and putting.

Knowledge of the rules, etiquette and golf vocabulary will also be

taught by PGA professionals.

Golfers should wear comfortable clothing with either tennis or

golf shoes. Instructors will provide clubs to golfers if needed.

For more information or to obtain an entry form, call Doug Booth

at (714) 540-7500, ext. 151. The course is located at 1701 Golf

Course Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.