Golf:

This year’s Pelican Cup, the annual Battle of the Bay boys’ golf match featuring Corona del Mar High and Newport Harbor, brings two teams with records close to where they were entering last year’s contest.

The Sea Kings hope they can stop Newport’s three-year winning streak when the teams face each other in an 18-hole nonleague match Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Pelican Hill Golf Club’s South Course.

Both the Sea Kings (11-1, 3-0 in the Pacific Coast League) and Sailors (8-3, 2-1 in the Sunset League) have this week off for spring break and will each play one match before Wednesday’s contest.

CdM Coach Mike Starkweather thanks Steve Friedlander, Pelican Hill’s PGA General Manager, for opening the course for the match.

This will be the fourth straight year the teams play the South Course, Starkweather said, who likes his team’s chances.

“We’ve competed against some very good teams and hit the ball very well,” Starkweather said. “[The Sea Kings] are well seasoned for being amateur golfers.”

CdM has two seniors, two juniors, and four sophomores. Newport counters with seniors Travis Russell and Mychael Clark and junior Zach Eddy.

Russell shot Newport’s best round in last year’s Back Bay clash, a one-under-par 71 in windy conditions, while Clark tallied 76 to go with Eddy’s 78. Erickson Klein and Marcus Mercado-Kiel each finished with 82 for Newport. CdM sophomore Mike Moorhead shot 76 as a freshman, while John Davenport and Josh Starnes each tallied 82 for the Sea Kings.

The Sailors entered last year’s match 10-3. CdM carried a 10-1 record into the contest.

Not knowing what the weather will be like, I’m banking on a close finish this year with competitive juices raining on the course.

 The Orange Coast College men’s golf team is moving at a strong pace heading into the latter stages of the season. The Pirates are 7-4 in the Orange Empire Conference, with one of their losses by one stroke to Irvine Valley Feb. 24.

Two Estancia alumns (Ryan Knapp and Andrew Ayala) are on OCC, which beat Santa Ana, 370-377, in an OEC match Wednesday.

Coast will play host to Riverside, Saddleback and Cypress Wednesday at Santa Ana Country Club.

OCC Coach Sean Collins and assistant John Ortega lead the Pirates to what could be a promising postseason.

 It’s Masters week and two Toshiba Classic champions are in the field. The newest Toshiba winner, Fred Couples (2010), and 2008 Toshiba champion Bernhard Langer are scheduled to tee off today at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., for the year’s first major championship.

Langer, a two-time Masters winner, is paired with Scott Verplank and Brad Benjamin (playing his first Masters) at 5:23 a.m. Pacific time.

Couples, the 1992 Masters champion already with three victories in his first PGA Champions Tour season, tees off with Sergio Garcia and Shingo Katayama at 9:58 a.m. Pacific time.

BRYCE ALDERTON’S golf column appears Wednesdays or Thursdays. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].