Another razor-close Jones Cup finish

Everybody gets busy. The older we get, the busier things can be. All

the more reason to step back and appreciate a good round of golf.

Like on Friday in Jones Cup IV at Mesa Verde Country Club, where

it was almost magical how it finished with each of the four pro-am

teams one shot behind the other on the leaderboard. As advertised, it

was down to the wire for the fourth consecutive year.

The smell of another playoff was in the air with a spirited Mesa

Verde happy-hour crowd on the balcony of the new clubhouse looking

down at the suspense on the 18th green, a par-three over water and

where two-time defending champion Big Canyon Country Club was about

to make it three years in a row with Director of Golf Bob Lovejoy

winning with his third straight amateur partner.

And, once again, Big Canyon rallied.

What is it about those guys?

This time, Lovejoy and men’s club champion Will Tipton put the

pressure on host Mesa Verde with head pro Tom Sargent and men’s club

champion Steve Rhorer, a 300-yard hitter off the tee who enjoyed a

memorable day around the greens, including a 35-foot birdie putt on

the par-four No. 5. Sargent and Rhorer followed with the first of

their two chest-bumps on the green, typical Sargent behavior.

Sargent, the former PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year,

and Rhorer, however, both missed crucial par putts at par-three No.

16 and Mesa Verde bogeyed to fall out of the lead. All the while, Big

Canyon was breathing down Mesa Verde’s neck behind Tipton’s

remarkable back-nine play.

Tipton, on the heels of fellow Big Canyon men’s club champions Ron

Maggard and Danny Lane who teamed with Lovejoy to win Jones Cup

titles, birdied 14 as Big Canyon dropped to three under and held

steady with pars to close out the round in front of a rolling crowd

of 200.

Lovejoy needed to two-putt from 25 feet on the 18th green, a

downhill left-to-right breaker, to secure the victory for Big Canyon.

His pace was perfect, setting up a three-foot par putt for the win.

“Tipton was playing really well for us. I’m just glad I was able to

contribute on the last hole,” said Lovejoy, who took a peek at the

scoreboard on the 15th green while standing with his daughter and

caddie, Jilayne, and realized his team was tied with Mesa Verde at

three under.

This year’s Jones Cup had drama in both groups. It was more fun

than a professional tournament, keeping track of two groups in

another Jones Cup finish that went down to the wire (where have we

heard that before?). Great golf shots were everywhere. The event is

part of the Fletcher Jones Motorcars/Daily Pilot Club Championship

Series.

*

Newport Beach Country Club head pro Paul Hahn is one of those guys

with a lot going on. Besides his regular duties at Newport Beach,

Hahn, 49, and his wife, Marlene, 48, are expecting their first child

on Sept. 1.

Hahn started wearing contact lenses for the first time six weeks

ago and feels better about the results.

He also received three ejections in his back last week to relieve

pain that has been bothering him for several years. He reported

Friday that his back was pain free for the first time since he was

12.

*

As Hahn was leaving his house Friday morning for the Jones Cup, he

received the news that his ex-brother-in-law and friend, Mike Tolman

of Alta Loma, died at age 45 of a massive heart attack after water

skiing with his family.

Hahn, however, managed to make the only eagle in the Jones Cup on

the first hole, when he launched a fairway wood to within three feet

and sank his putt for an eagle three.

“OK, I’m done,” Hahn quipped.

Hahn is also expected to play as a sponsor’s exemption in the 2004

Toshiba Senior Classic, his first appearance on the Champions Tour.