Golden times for Carrasco

BRYCE ALDERTON

Second of two parts

Golf, as in life, brings a hope that another opportunity will

come, even though we sometimes don’t know what or even why that is.

For Ray Carrasco, a senior touring professional who teaches at

Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast, turning 50 in 1997 meant

discovering a new world.

Right on the golf course, no less, on the European Seniors Tour.

But first, he tried his hand at the PGA Tour.

Carrasco, 58, earned his PGA Tour card on the third try at

Q-School for the 1975 season and spent two years on the circuit.

The rigors of the tour, and his own mindset, took their toll and

Carrasco lost his card after those two seasons.

“I was immature,” he said. “I didn’t approach it the right way. I

tried to play the greatest round every round.”

Carrasco tried twice more to qualify for the PGA Tour, but missed

the cut once by one stroke and another by two.

In those days there were no developmental tours like the

Nationwide Tour, so Carrasco opted for mini tours in the states and

around the globe.

“I played every tour known to man, in South America, the European

and Asian tours,” he said.

Carrasco finished second in the 1979 Columbian Open.

He doesn’t look at missing out on qualifying for the PGA Tour for

the second time with regret.

“I consider it a blessing,” Carrasco said.

Suzanne, his wife, gave birth to son Ryan in 1976 and daughter Ali

in 1978.

“I would have been gone all the time,” he said of playing

regularly on tour. “It was totally unconducive to a functional

family.

“Sue has been such a strong influence and made mature decisions --

to move when we should have moved.”

Carrasco, who comes from a family of 15, spent more time teaching

and took a job as an instructor at Laguna Hills Golf Range, which he

held for 16 years before moving to Strawberry Farms Golf Club in

Irvine and, two years ago, transitioned to Pelican Hill.

He enjoyed his most success on the mini tours in the states,

winning more than 100 events before turning 50 in 1997, when a second

chance to play on a competitive tour, in this case the European

Seniors Tour, came along.

Winning was the next goal, but a spate of injuries, including a

pinched nerve in his neck and shoulder problems, caused Carrasco some

discomfort on his body and on his ranking.

He was in danger of falling out of the top 50 and losing his tour

card heading into the final tournament of 2002, the Senior Masters at

the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.

Carrasco shot 68 and 71 and was tied for the lead with Japan’s

Seiji Ebihara the tour’s leading money winner, entering the final

round.

Both players shot even on the front nine, said Carrasco, who

repeated three Bible verses throughout the round.

“The verses were: “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who

strengthens me; The joy of the Lord is my strength; and the peace of

God surpasses all understanding.”

“I was in big-time prayer.”

He also put realistic expectations upon himself.

“If I finish in the top 10, great,” Carrasco said.

Carrasco came to the 18th, a 465-yard par 4 with a one-shot lead.

Both players reached the green in two. Carrasco had a 4 1/2 -foot

birdie putt while Ebihara had a 20-footer.

“I imagined I was in the back yard and focused on the right edge,”

Carrasco said.

He made contact and it didn’t take long to see the result.

“I looked up and it was the prettiest thing you had ever seen,” he

said.

Carrasco considers that moment his most memorable in golf.

He started playing the sport when he was 9, buying clubs with

money he earned from a paper route through a Garden Grove

neighborhood.

Carrasco loved chipping and analyzing why golf balls break and

eventually constructed a chipping and putting green in the backyard

of the family home.

He would spend countless hours there, putting to use what he was

learning from numerous books he read about the sport. He regularly

visited the library to peruse anything written about golf.

*

Carrasco teaches golf two or three days a week at Pelican,

splitting time with Oak Creek, and belongs to Big Canyon Country

Club.

Ryan Carrasco, 28,a student at Columbia University in New York,

occasionally caddies for him.

But in speaking with Ryan, nothing really changes in their

demeanor once on the golf course.

They still jab each other with sarcastic comments and jokes.

Ryan said the number of feet of certain putts increases each time

his father tells a story.

Ray Carrasco is standing mere feet away as his son says this in

the living room of the family’s home.

The two share a laugh.

Ryan, starting to chuckle, echoed the thoughts of his mother when

he said it might not be a coincidence he hasn’t witnessed one of his

father’s victories overseas.

Ryan said it’s difficult to watch his father when he’s not playing

well, but the mood generally remains upbeat.

“The nice thing when he plays poorly is we can joke around, there

less pressure,” Ryan said.

A win in the Senior British Open, one of the Champions Tour’s

majors, would give Carrasco exempt status for the senior tour in

2006.

For now, he’ll pack his bags, and a new set of golf clubs, for

Europe.

Carrasco is working on an endorsement deal with Cleveland and

thus, will learn to hit a new set of irons and woods before he heads

across the Atlantic Ocean.

Quite a progression from boyhood days of hickory cut-offs.