Costa Mesa Chamber event sizzles

S.J. Cahn

It was a hot day of labor Monday for 128 dedicated workers at Costa

Mesa Golf & Country Club.

Well, maybe not that dedicated. But make no mistake, they were

hot.

Those 128 people -- let’s be truthful, they were golfers -- took

time out of otherwise busy schedules to take part in the annual Costa

Mesa Community Golf Classic, which raises money for the Costa Mesa

Chamber of Commerce.

At $950 per foursome, it wasn’t a bad take for the chamber.

And with participants walking away with a bag of goodies that

included a new Cleveland Golf putter, golf shirt and an ingenious

golfer’s flask, it wasn’t a bad take for the golfers, either.

The winners did even better.

Taking home four cigar humidors were Jay Ware, Brad Timmons, Jason

Rush and Patrick Munoz. The foursome, playing a scramble format that

involved teams having to play at least three drives by every player,

shot a 57.

A 57 that only earned them a victory after a card-off, as the

second place team of Jon Gray, Jeff Ohland, Glen Cowie and Ron

Siegell also shot a 57.

The difference was a birdie by the winners on the par-3 seventh

hole, a stroke that kept the Gray-Ohland-Cowie-Siegell team from

claiming a third Golf Classic win in a row. Still, they did take home

a classy set of poker chips.

Third place, with a 58, were Paul Lundsford, Robert Gian, Furgus

Murphy and Frank Romano, who earned a modern barbecue set each for

their efforts.

As a consolation for the second-place team, they won an

intra-tournament competition among players for the Harbor Boulevard

of Cars, representing Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge.

In a second intra-competetion among city workers, the Police

Department team of John FitzPatrick, Angelo Morgan, Clint Dieball and

Matt Grimmond were tops with a 62.

Ohland also won the event’s chipping competition, beating out 17

other finalists. Dave Robins, of Theodore Robins Ford, won the

putting contest, claiming the title from four other finalists -- the

original putt, a nasty, breaking 25-footer that was roped off and

kept the strokes tight was so difficult that only a handful sank it.

“It was nice to be able to have a few shots in front of me to be

able to read the greens,” Robins admitted.

Hey, it was good enough for Phil Mickelson at the Masters, right?

As important as these contests were, the spirit of competition

frequently took a clear backseat to the spirit of fun.

“I think, looking around at the excitement, I saw a more relaxed

atmosphere,” said Joe Sperrazza, who runs the club’s pro shop and was

among those instrumental in getting the event off the ground.

Throughout the day, there were audible jokes shouted from one tee

to a green, brief respites at food stops, provided by the likes of

Clayton Shurley, Newport Rib Co. and Pat & Oscar’s and maybe even a

drink or two downed in the afternoon heat.

Another of the event’s organizers, chamber member Lisa Tatman,

showed the day’s overriding sentiment after about nine hours on the

course and at the after-round dinner/award show/auction.

“The foursome was built for fun,” she said of her group, which

included Lisa Mills, Diane Chavez and the Daily Pilot’s Lana Johnson.

Groups that helped build that fun included the Orange County

Market Place, South Coast Plaza and Union Bank.

Plus, there was the country club itself. By all accounts, the

grounds were in tremendous shape and the greens -- featuring newly

painted, white cups -- were at the peak of their already well-known

excellence.

The club’s head groundskeeper, Jim Fetterly, earned repeated kudos

for the course’s shape.

Fetterly knew the importance of the tournament and made sure the

course was ready, Sperrazza said.

“We’re part of the community and we wanted to do something for the

community,” Sperrazza added, pointing out that the chamber could

raise maximum amounts of money by running the event at the municipal

course, where costs could be lower.

The classic’s chairmen were two Pilot personalities, Publisher

Thomas H. Johnson (who won a closest-to-the-pin contest) and

advertising rep Ned Bondie.

Pat Stanley won the longest drive.

Because one of them pretty much pays my check, I feel obligated to

mention those facts (especially the win).