Community remembers Bubba

It was an amazing day Monday at the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club. Some 150 members of the Newport-Mesa community came out, teed up and played a brisk 4 1/2 hours of golf.

Yes, yes, that doesn’t sound amazing. Golfers consistently fill the fairways and greens of Costa Mesa’s two courses. But Monday was different.

On Monday, the community members came out in memory of Brian “Bubba” Kapko, the Estancia High School graduate who was killed in a tragic car accident this summer.

And this wasn’t the usual crowd pulling out the irons (not to take anything away from the usual crowd). Monday, the course was filled with regular folk who took time out of their busy week to remember Bubba and raise about $8,500 for Estancia Athletic Booster Club and the Bubba Kapko Memorial Fund. There were seniors, there were seniors in high school and just about everyone in between.

Why this crowd? Because these were the people Bubba touched during his 19 years. These are people who crowded his funeral and have pledged not to let his memory fade.

These are people whose spirit of giving and sportsmanship on Monday would have made Bubba proud. And happy.20051120ipyzc2knDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Nancy Kapko, left, mother of Bubba Kapko, and Julie Johnston on the golf course