Big Canyon extends Jones Cup lead with 12th victory
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Atop an incline behind the ninth green, Robert Pang demonstrated deft touch to chip a ball to the lip of the green, then watched it roll to within six feet of the hole.
At times on Thursday afternoon, the hosts from Big Canyon Country Club made it look easy, and it appeared they would win in a laugher.
Then Pang missed a short putt, and a couple of green-side spectators gasped. They questioned among themselves whether Big Canyon still had the lead.
Under the two-best-balls format, it hadn’t mattered. Big Canyon entered the final hole with a three-shot lead over Mesa Verde, and with the rest of the group finished on their scorecards, the hosts clinched a two-stroke victory.
In the brilliant light of a setting sun behind the trees, Pang tapped in for a bogey. It had been a laughing matter after all, and a night of celebration was about to begin at the Newport Beach-based club.
“That chip shot, just have to get it on the green,” said Pang, the club’s director of golf. “It was just great. What a fun day. We’ve been talking [about how] this is the last time we get to play the Jones Cup on this golf course before we redo it in August. It’s a really fun day for us.”
Robert Muir Graves designed the original golf course at Big Canyon, which opened in 1971. John Harbottle finished the most recent course in 1998.”
Big Canyon entered the clubhouse at a combined score of 12 under par. Pang sank five birdies, including four on the first five holes. Senior champion Will Tipton and ladies’ champion Olivia Slutzky, longtime veterans of the Jones Cup, each had three birdies.
“That’s who we learn from,” said Walter Frome IV, who took much of the drama out of the final hole by making par. “I’ve been around since I was little, but those are the people that we look up to. I play golf with Will Tipton every week, and that’s how you get better. You play with these people, and you learn about the game. They show you the right way.”
The Jones Cup is an annual competition between the country clubs of Big Canyon, Mesa Verde, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Shady Canyon. Big Canyon has a tournament-best 12 victories, followed by Mesa Verde with eight wins in the event.
It’s a tournament that each club very much wants to win, although the atmosphere is often more friendly than rivalrous, and members of the respective clubs cheer on their friends on the course.
“You know that they’re out there and you’re playing against the field, but all you can really control is the shot that you’re hitting and then the atmosphere within your group,” Big Canyon club professional Erika Ilagan said. “I think that was something that we did really well today. Being able to defend [our home course], there’s a little bit of pressure, and we were able to kind of keep that at bay and just encourage each other as we were making putts and hitting shots.”
Mesa Verde, the runner-up at 10 under par, was led by club professional Mike Fergin, who had five birdies. Men’s champion Ryan Knapp added three birdies, and senior champion Don Odom fired in the lone eagle on the round.
“I had about a 210-yard shot in, and I had some good coaching from my teammates,” Odom said of the feat, which came on the second hole. “I was fortunate. The wind was blowing a little, so I hit a little cut up there. The wind knocked it down, and it helped.”
Shady Canyon placed third at six under par, and Newport Beach and Santa Ana tied for fourth at two under par.
Ladies’ champion Kelly Ly carded four birdies to lead Shady Canyon. The Irvine-based club had some news to share after the competition.
“I played tournament golf 40 years ago, and I ran out of money, ran out of talent,” said Brian Gunson, who is retiring as director of golf at the club. “This has been my Masters for the last 16 or 17 years. I’ve loved every second of the Jones Cup. I’m really going to miss it.”
Newport Beach’s Andrew Alderdice and Santa Ana’s Marcus De La Rosa, both club professionals, had four birdies apiece.
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