Two golf courses in this newspaper’s circulation...

Two golf courses in this newspaper’s circulation area earned acclaim

among the best public courses in the United States, and top layouts

in California, in Golf Digest’s annual ratings for 2004-05, headlined

in its May issue.

Newport Coast’s Pelican Hill Golf Club (Ocean North course) took

91st in the magazine’s top 100 public courses in America, two places

behind Torrey Pines Golf Course (South) in La Jolla. Torrey Pines

will host the 2008 U.S. Open.

Shady Canyon Golf Club in Irvine, which opened in 2002, moved five

spots from its prior-year ranking to 25th on the best courses in

California list.

Pelican Hill’s Ocean North course placed 29th after no ranking on

the state’s top list a year ago while Torrey Pines took 28th.

Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., was the top-rated

course in California while Pebble Beach Golf Links came in No. 1 in

America’s best public courses.

A panel of more than 100 low-handicap men and women evaluated

courses on eight criteria: condition, ambience, walkability,

aesthetics, memorability, design, variety, resistance to scoring and

shot values, for the 100 greatest courses and 100 greatest public

courses. Panelists rated each category on a scale of 1 (unacceptable

to poor) to 10 (absolutely perfect) for each course.

*

Newport Beach Country Club will once again host local qualifying

for the U.S. Open when play convenes 7 a.m. May 18.

The club is one of more than 100 sites nationwide staging local

qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open, scheduled June 16-19 at

Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 Course in Pinehurst, N.C.

Locals entered into the field of 90 players, who will tee off on

holes 1 and 10 at Newport Beach Country Club, include Costa Mesa

residents John Morris, Steve Justice and Costa Mesa Golf & Country

Club teaching pro Sean Collins.

Newport Beach residents entered in the field include Big Canyon

Country Club men’s club champion Mike Carpenter, Stan Watkins, Greg

Meyer, Eric Lohman, Newport Beach Country Club member Brian Lindley,

Mike Walker, Eric Woods, Dan Buchner, Trevor Martin and Monte

Scheinblum, along with Amit Chopra from Newport Coast.

Last year, eight players from local qualifying at Newport Beach

Country Club advanced to sectional qualifying.

Sectional qualifying will take place May 30-June 7, at one of 14

sites nationwide.

The United States Golf Association has accepted a record 9,048

entries for this year’s U.S. Open.

The number is 322 entries more than the previous record, set last

year.

*

Newport Beach Country Club held its couples championship Sunday.

Ted Embry and Debbie Albright, winner of nine straight Newport

Beach Country Club ladies club titles, claimed the overall gross

division with a 1-under-par 70.

Tom and Paula DeMars won the net division crown with a 58.

Results from the remaining three flights follow.

A Flight

1. Bob and Susan Ralston 61

2. Ed Wallace and Karen Knoche 62

3. Tom Cresto and Linda Maggard 63

4. Jim and Jan Keane 64

B Flight

Bill and Judy Wilkerson 63*

Jim and Cindy Wagner 63

Charlie and Sherry Cook 64*

Larry and Jo Overman 64

C Flight

Michael and Laura Ball 61

Gene Lee and Deborah Poland 62

Steuart and Scarlet Friedman 63

Jay and Gaye Roche 64

Closest to the pin honors for each of the courses’ four par 3s

went to Karen Knoche (4), Ted Elink-Schuurman (8), Sandy Coffer (13)

and Bob Ralston (17).

*

Newport Beach resident Danielle Amiee makes her LPGA Tour debut in

today’s first round of the Michelob ULTRA Open at the Kingsmill

Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va.

Amiee earned one of two sponsor’s exemptions into the field by

outlasting nine other female golfers in a series of skills challenges

on the inaugural “Big Break III: Ladies Only,” a television series

that aired on the Golf Channel.

The final episode aired April 26, when Amiee defeated Pam

Crikelair, 2 and 1, in the match-play final, also held at Kingsmill.

Amiee, who practices at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club and

competes in the Futures tour, landed her tee shot on the par-3 17th

eight feet from the cup and sank the birdie putt to seal the victory.

Se Ri Pak is the Michelob ULTRA defending champion. The field also

includes Annika Sorenstam, who will attempt to set a tour record with

her sixth straight victory in as many starts at the tournament.

With her “Big Break” victory, Amiee also earned an exemption into

the LPGA’s Corning Classic May 26-29 at Corning Country Club in

Corning, N.Y.