Newport grabs Cup

NEWPORT COAST — In the end, it was Pelican Hill’s punched greens that allowed Newport Harbor High to deal Corona del Mar the knockout blow in Monday’s Battle of the Bay.

The Sailors defeated the Sea Kings for the second straight year, 394-410, to win the Pelican Cup. Newport Harbor has won its last four matches, almost all on punched greens. Putting conditions on the club’s Ocean South course weren’t favorable for either side, but the Sailors (10-4) were better prepared to deal with the newly aerated grass.

For the past eight weeks, both teams had been practicing on smooth Bermuda greens with fairly true lays. Monday, everyone was contending with bumps in addition to speed issues.

“Most of the courses that we’ve been playing have been punching their greens,” said sophomore medalist Travis Russell. “It wasn’t like this was the first course we’ve played. Our home course [Big Canyon Country Club], the courses we’ve been playing at away matches, have all been punched. So it wasn’t that big of a change getting used to them, but the speed was hard.”

Russell shot one-over-par 71 and birdied three holes, including a par-four on the 15th hole. He was three under par on the back nine that gave almost everyone trouble.

Newport Harbor Coach Scott Tarnow said Russell, who has his eye on the University of Florida golf program, is the best sophomore he’s seen.

“Travis has worked extremely hard this year,” Tarnow said. “I knew at the beginning of the year he had put in a lot of time. He’s going home every night and he’s putting for an hour and a half. I’ve seen major improvement in his performance. He’s been not only the best overall player, but the most consistent.”

Russell wowed the Sea Kings’ coach as well.

“I’ve got to hand it to them,” said CdM Coach Mike Starkweather. “That 71 is amazing.”

Senior Chase Behr also had three birdies for 77. His best was on the 16th hole, a par-three, following a school-best performance at Meadowlark Golf Club Friday. Behr was three under par with no bogeys and three birdies through nine holes.

Mychael Clark also shot 77, followed by Steve Stoneman (83) and Erickson Klein (86) for Newport Harbor.

The Sailors now lead the series for the Pelican Cup, 4-2. This was the first Battle of the Bay at Pelican Hill since the club closed for two years for renovations.

“This is our first day back from spring break,” Starkweather said. “In their league, they had two league matches this last week. We had no matches at all. I think they stayed a little sharper than we did. I heard from every one of them they had difficulty putting today because the greens were relatively new-punched.”

Camden Nicholson led Corona del Mar (8-8) with 73, followed by teammates Taylor Keddington (81), Connor Corrigan (86), Josh Starnes (86) and Jeff Jones (88).

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.