COSTA MESA JUNIOR TOURNAMENT:

COSTA MESA — For some odd reason Travis Russell’s golf game flourishes after a bad round.

That’s why he works out the kinks a day before a tournament.

Russell played well enough to win in his home course Tuesday. Or so he thought at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club’s Mesa Linda course.

As he strolled in to turn his scorecard, fresh off a bogey-free round resulting in four-under-par 66, someone gave him the bad news.

“Dude, some guy beat you by one,” a fellow competitor said.

“Really, who is he?” a shocked Russell responded.

Russell never got the chance to meet and greet Spencer Kushner of San Juan Capistrano at the 19th annual Costa Mesa Junior Championship.

Kushner quickly left after recording a 65 in which he fired three eagles and made an impressive hole in one on No. 6 to claim the boys’ 16-18 age group.

Russell, a junior-to-be at Newport Harbor High, wanted to congratulate Kushner and celebrate with him.

“He should’ve bought drinks. He had a hole in one,” Russell said. “The scorekeeper, she’s like, ‘Yeah, I was really looking forward to a Diet Pepsi.’ ”

If Russell had achieved the feat, he surely would’ve picked up the tab.

He even might’ve if he won the one-day event in which Orange’s Nicholas Hanna (67) took third, followed by Trabuco Canyon’s Brian Wielenga (68), Foothill Ranch’s Nicholas Hoffman (69), and Newport Beach’s Braden Cluck (70).

In his first competitive tournament on the Mesa Linda course in two years, Russell came close to winning the Southern California PGA Junior Tour event.

News of Kushner’s 129-yard hole in one never made it to Russell’s group. Throughout the 18 holes, he played relaxed.

He can thank his familiarity with the short course. And there were two recognizable faces with him.

Former Newport Harbor teammate Chase Behr played with him. Their former coach Scott Tarnow followed the two around.

Russell benefited the most. Behr, who plans to attend Orange Coast College, finished with a 76, good enough for 11th place.

Russell birdied four times, twice on the front nine and twice on the back nine. His group was two groups behind Kushner’s.

After the front nine, Russell trailed Kushner by one stroke. The deficit could’ve been more if Kushner hadn’t bogeyed the first and seventh holes.

Kushner recovered in between those holes. He hit some remarkable shots to birdie No. 3, eagle No. 5 and then the unbelievable hole in one on No. 6.

A hole in one on the par-three hole isn’t something Russell’s done.

“I’m like, ‘Wow!’” said Russell, adding that he’s made a hole in one on No. 2 at Mesa Linda.

He never came close Tuesday. His struggles were Nos. 5 and 7, where he couldn’t avoid the rough.

This penalized him on the par-five holes, making him work hard to just break even.

“I didn’t play particularly how I wanted on the front,” Russell said. “It got close down to the end. Sixty-three, or 62, it was [possible].

“But I missed a lot of easy putts, easy three-footers.”

Jake Knapp blamed his outing in the boys’ 14-15 division on putting as well.

Knapp, an incoming freshman at Estancia High, finished sixth after recording a three-over-par 73.

Two years ago at the same event, Knapp won the 12-13 division.

“Not as good as I would’ve hoped, or as I expected,” said Knapp, who bogeyed four times and only birdied once.

Michael Haeri of Huntington Beach won with a 67. The sophomore-to-be at Mater Dei finished strong, collecting birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. Michael Bonicatto took third at 70.

“It was pretty easy,” Haeri said.

In the boys’ 12-13 division, Sahith Theegala of Chino Hills won the title with a one-over-par 71.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.