Single hole is costly

All it takes is one slight mishap -- a tweak of a wrist, a bend of an

elbow, a sudden gust of wind -- and an entire round of golf can be

compromised.

For the Mesa Verde Country Club fivesome playing in Tuesday’s

Jones Cup, it was one bad hole -- an aberration on the scorecard that

led to a mental thorn in the minds of the players.

There it stood: Hole No. 14, a 208-yard par-3 from the black tees

with water on the right side. Nothing special, nothing fancy.

But all five teammates missed the green on their tee shots, which

eventually led to a two-stroke loss and a momentum killer at Santa

Ana Country Club.

The Mesa Verde team of head pro Tom Sargent, assistant Brett

Brummett, women’s champion Akemi Khaiat, senior champion Bryan Rolfe

and men’s champion Matt Baugh arguably fell out of contention after

the 14th and finished third among four teams with a 6-under-par 66.

“That was a killer, definitely,” Sargent said about hole No. 14,

where the team totaled four bogeys and a double bogey with the squad

sitting just three strokes out of the lead. “We all hit bad shots

there and managed to lose two [strokes]. Golf is a game of momentum,

and when you get negative momentum going, it’s not good.”

Big Canyon Country Club carded a 12-under 60 for its fourth

victory in five years, while Newport Beach Country Club finished

second at 11-under. Home club Santa Ana finished fourth at 5-under in

the tournament, where each club tallied the two best scores from each

hole.

Mesa Verde had its momentum singing early, as Rolfe birdied the

first and fourth holes, while Khaiat birdied the second hole -- good

for a tie with Big Canyon for first.

And after Rolfe sank his estimated eight-foot putt on No. 8 for

his third birdie, and Brummett and Khaiat tallied birdies on the

par-5 No. 9, Mesa Verde had a momentum swing in motion.

Mesa Verde managed to lower its score to 7-under following birdies

from Brummett and Baugh before entering the dismal 14th.

But on the infamous hole, Rolfe teed off long and left, Baugh hit

the water, Brummett and Sargent hit left, and Khaiat hit a sand

bunker on the left side, heavily decreasing the team’s chances of

holding its current score.

Sargent managed a brilliant chip shot over a bunker, landing the

ball about three feet from the pin. But he was an inch wide on the

par putt.

“On a scale of one to 10, I would say we played at about five,”

said Brummett, who totaled two birdies on the day. “We didn’t really

take advantage of a lot of opportunities. We missed three or four

short putts. When you don’t make a lot of putts, it’s hard to pick it

up and get the ball rolling.”

Rolfe sank three birdies -- all on the front nine -- to lead Mesa

Verde, while Khaiat sank two and both Sargent and Baugh had one

apiece.

Sargent’s birdie was perhaps the most dramatic of the Mesa Verde

members, as he chipped in from the fringe on hole No. 16 from about

30 feet out to give the team its final score of 6-under par.

The fivesome had several more chances at birdies, but the putts

just didn’t fall.

“I wish we could have made a little more putts,” Khaiat said.

“[The greens] were very slow compared to [Mesa Verde]. Usually these

greens are very fast.”

Added Baugh: “We didn’t have much luck on the par-3s and we

definitely didn’t play well on the par-5s, but the greens are a

little different out here than at Mesa Verde. But it was fun,

overall.”