Newport Beach sputters on putts

COSTA MESA — Putt after putt rolled at their feet Thursday at Mesa Verde Country Club. Through 18 holes of long putts, short putts, downhill putts, uphill putts and putts that seemed to have a mind of their own, the five players representing the Newport Beach Country Club in the seventh Jones Cup golf match kept rolling along.

But somehow, they never managed to get on any kind of roll.

“We just couldn’t put anything in the hole,” said Newport Beach Country Club head professional Paul Hahn, who contributed his share of narrow misses.

The Newport Beach contingent, also made up of club professional Carlo Borunda, men’s club champion Brian Lindley, senior club champion Bob Kraft and club women’s champion Debbie Albright, finished three-under-par 139 to finish third in the 18-hole match.

The top two scores were recorded from each of the four teams on every hole.

Newport Beach managed six birdies, four of which were contributed by Borunda.

But the team was never more than three-under at any point and was even until both Hahn and Kraft drained birdie putts on the 11th hole.

Host Mesa Verde won the event (134), followed by Santa Ana Country Club (135). Big Canyon Country Club was fourth (140) on the par-71 course.

Borunda, who won his spot on the team by topping two other club professionals in an 18-hole playoff, sank a 10-foot putt on the par-five first hole. He put a 12-footer in the cup for birdie on the par-five fourth hole.

But Newport Beach continued to amass pars and bogeys, many finalized by tap-in putts after an excruciatingly narrow miss.

Several times the gallery of as many as two dozen groaned in unison as another birdie attempt flirted with the hole.

Newport Beach had five putts lip out, four on the first nine holes.

“We just couldn’t get any momentum going,” said Borunda, who chipped in from 20 feet for birdie on the par-four 15th hole and sank a seven-footer for birdie on the par-four 17th.

“From tee to green, we were all pretty good. But, today, it was all about the putter.”

Lindley, an Estancia High product who grew up playing at Mesa Verde and was the club champion there in 1980, was among those who struggled to succeed with his flat club.

“The greens were generally difficult to putt on,” Lindley said. “There are a lot of subtle breaks and the pins were in places where it was sometimes smart to hit a little bit away from [the pin].”

Albright said the greens at Newport Beach Country Club also offer subtle undulations, so the Newport team was not without experience in that department.

“But it was still difficult to put a determined stroke on the ball, when you didn’t know which way it was going to break,” Albright said.

Making matters worse, Newport Beach approach shots often surrounded the hole, making it difficult for players to learn from previous putts attempted by their teammates.

“We just never got it going,” Albright said. “I thought I hit some pretty good shots, but I just didn’t score.”

Kraft was also confounded several times on putts that missed by mere inches.

“It was a struggle all day for us, but that’s the way golf is sometimes,” Kraft said. “We birdied No. 1, then bogeyed No. 2. Sometimes, you just never get on a roll.”

Borunda also said the tournament atmosphere, with spectators watching and scores being publicized, may have contributed to more stress on the greens.

“We’re not used to playing in tournaments,” Borunda said. “When every shot counts and people are watching, sometimes it can make you a little tight. You start thinking about technique, rather than just making a swing on the ball. I know I made a decision, coming in, to go for the flag, rather than play for par. And when you do that, sometimes you make a few birdies and sometimes it leads to a few bogeys.”

Lindley shot 79, Kraft 81 and Albright 84 as amateurs competing for two berths in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

The two Mercedes-Benz qualifying berths went to Mesa Verde men’s club champion Steve Rhorer (73) and Rick Herrera (74), the men’s and senior club champion from Santa Ana Country Club.