Pegging top shot

The two Estancia High School golfers did their best to make their shots right on target on the 18th green of the Newport Beach Country Club. But when they return for the Shot From the Top contest in March, they’ll be teeing off from the roof of a nearby hotel.

After qualifying at a “closest to the peg� contest Monday, the Estancia team has won a chance to play in the unusual contest, an annual part of the Toshiba Classic golf tournament. When the main event rolls around, the teams will join up with professional players in a battle for the most accurate shots, sending them flying right onto the green from the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa.

Estancia senior Storm Hagan, 17, had been to the qualifier last year, but this will be his first time in the main event.

“I’m looking forward to it,� he said.

Teammate Kelly Peters, 15, agreed: “We get to play with some really talented people.�

In the qualifier, teams of two — one male player and one female — each made a single, 100-yard shot toward the country club’s 18th green. Much like in a game of horseshoes, the top qualifiers were those who got their golf balls as close as possible to a peg. Those with the smallest combined distance scored the highest. In a coincidence, Kelly and Storm each scored the same: 18 feet away from the target.

Estancia was the only Newport-Mesa school that made the cut, beating out teams from Newport Harbor High School, Costa Mesa High School and Corona del Mar High School. Each team, however, earned at least four Toshiba laptops for its home school. The winners in March can score as many as 25.

The students who took part were the school’s top golfers who weren’t caught up in other sport seasons, Estancia golf coach Art Perry said. This slightly unorthodox event wasn’t too hard to get ready for, though, he said.

“I had them working on 100-yard shots,� he said. “We practice all year. There’s no extra pressure.�

It meant plenty of work at local golf courses for Storm and Kelly, however.

“Every day, I was doing 100-yard shots, over and over, especially this week,� Storm said. “That’s a lot of balls.�