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.
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