Packed field primed for Costa Mesa

The 32nd annual Costa Mesa city championship begins Saturday at the

Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club with one of the largest fields in its

history, tournament director Sean Collins said.

The championship will feature 390 men’s amateur golfers spread

across five flights for the 36-hole tournament that concludes Sunday.

This year’s championship flight features 169 golfers, including

past champions Mike Carpenter (2001), Greg Sato (1999) and last

year’s winner Adam Marshall.

Golfers, who must be 18 or older, will tee off beginning at 6 a.m.

Saturday on both Mesa Linda and Los Lagos courses. Players in the

championship flight will compete on Mesa Linda Saturday and Los Lagos

on Sunday.

Marshall became the 29th player in 31 years to claim the

championship last summer when he birdied the first hole of a

sudden-death, three-way playoff against Mike Lavery, former UC Irvine

standout, and Torey Edwards.

Past champions include Mark O’Meara and Scott Simpson, both major

tournament winners on the PGA Tour.