Golf: Jones Cup heating up

Richard Dunn

With the inaugural Jones Cup waiting in the wings, half of the

field is set for the ultimate men’s program July 28 at Newport Beach

Country Club.

Mesa Verde Country Club head professional Tom Sargent has committed

himself and longtime Mesa Verde standout Pete Daley, while Big Canyon

Country Club head pro Kelly Manos said he will tee it up with reigning

men’s club champion Steve Collins.

Sargent is a former PGA of America Professional of the Year and past

president of the Southern California PGA. Daley won Mesa Verde men’s club

championships in 1998 and ’99.

The Jones Cup is the new men’s competition in the Fletcher Jones

Motorcars/Daily Pilot Club Championship Series, which launched the Tea

Cup Classic for women in 1997.

“It always seemed like a natural to happen, to have a Tea Cup Classic

for the men,” said Collins, who has won five Big Canyon titles, but in

1999 won his first in 10 years.

Collins said he played earlier this year with Chris Veitch, the

two-time defending men’s club champion at Santa Ana Country Club, and the

two talked about getting a competition together for the local club

champions.

With the Jones Cup, it’s a reality.

Club pros determine their own teams and have until July 14 to confirm

the players.

The ultimate pro-am, a community effort involving any staff pro and

men’s club amateur in a best-ball, 18-hole format, features the four

private clubs in the Daily Pilot’s circulation: Big Canyon, Mesa Verde,

Newport Beach and Santa Ana.

The Tea Cup Classic features the women’s club champions from the four

clubs in stroke play. But the Jones Cup will have a perpetual trophy to

be displayed anywhere the winning club deems fit.

Tee times for the two foursomes in the Jones Cup start at 1 p.m.

The Jones Cup is named after the only benefactor the series has had.

Similar to the Tea Cup Classic, it is designed to promote golf in the

area and bring the golf community closer together for a day of fun, which

includes the crowning of a club team champion.

The Villa Nova restaurant in Newport Beach will host its seventh

annual “Hey! Your Fly is Open!” Golf Tournament July 24 at Newport Beach

Country Club. Details: (949) 642-7880.

Results of the Costa Mesa men’s club championship (at Costa Mesa Golf

& Country Club):

Flight A: Low gross, Scott Kuhns; runner-up, Tom Copland.

Low net: Joe Venegas, Andy Horner, Dennis Iden, Scott Clements and

Mike McGinty.

Flight B: Low gross, Jim Baker; runner-up, Larry Green.

Low net: David Yee, Mark Kilgore, Quinn Promarug, Spencer Noteboom and

Marvin Matthews.

Flight C: Low gross, Manny Valencia; runner-up Denny Fenton.

Low net: Tony Tether, Dick Sanderson and Jack Rogen.