Local golfer Bryce Sheridan wins Will Jordan Classic after years of coming soooo close

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

The adage used to be an apt description of local golfer Bryce Sheridan’s attempts at winning the Costa Mesa City Championship, a tournament he first entered at around 18 years old and kept chipping away at, placing fourth, third and even second among more than 100 amateur linksmen.

All that changed at this year’s 49th annual Will Jordan Classic, where Sheridan shot 7 under for a total gross score of 135, beating out a field of competitors who left their best on the Costa Mesa Country Club golf course during last weekend’s tournament.

Local resident Bryce Sheridan realizing his win Sunday during the Will Jordan Classic at the Costa Mesa Country Club golf course.

(Courtesy of Kerry Tebbe)

“It was a great feeling,” the 38-year-old said in an interview Friday. “Every tournament is hit or miss, and I’ve been close before. One of my buddies even made a joke, he said, ‘No more bridesmaid.’”

Sheridan — who spent much of his childhood at the public course in Costa Mesa with his dad and grandpa and began taking lessons there at age 12 before going on to play on golf teams at Costa Mesa High and Orange Coast College — said the victory was emotional for him after losing his father, Scott Sheridan, in 2019.

“I’ve gone through some tough things in the last four of five years, so people know it’s been rough for me,” he said. “I wanted to win this one, not only for myself but for my dad and for a couple of other close friends we lost over the last couple of years.”

Bryce Sheridan plays a course at the Costa Mesa Country Club during a City Championship Game held Aug. 5 and 6.

(Courtesy of Kirk Owens Photography)

Sheridan was among 120 championship flight contenders who played the site’s Mesa Linda track on Saturday, where he ended the day one stroke behind the leading player and 5 under on the 70-par course.

Although breezy conditions Sunday complicated things, Sheridan stayed strong as other competitors began to fall behind.

“I just kept making par and had a feeling I was up in the No. 1 spot for the time being, but I kept having the feeling someone else was close,” he said Friday. “I didn’t know until the last hole — I actually ended with a birdie.”

Kyle Wilson, the club’s director of golf, said Friday that 265 players hit the fairways over the weekend, participating in four flights of the tournament. But among the fray, Sheridan’s persistence stood out.

“Everybody at the course was pulling for him,” said Wilson, who had the honor of presenting the winners’ trophies. “I know it meant a lot to him, so it was good to see.”

Bryce Sheridan kisses the trophy he received Sunday after winning the championship flight of the Will Jordan Classic in Costa Mesa.

(Courtesy of Kerry Tebbe)

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