Costa Mesa Chamber event sizzles
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S.J. Cahn
It was a hot day of labor Monday for 128 dedicated workers at Costa
Mesa Golf & Country Club.
Well, maybe not that dedicated. But make no mistake, they were
hot.
Those 128 people -- let’s be truthful, they were golfers -- took
time out of otherwise busy schedules to take part in the annual Costa
Mesa Community Golf Classic, which raises money for the Costa Mesa
Chamber of Commerce.
At $950 per foursome, it wasn’t a bad take for the chamber.
And with participants walking away with a bag of goodies that
included a new Cleveland Golf putter, golf shirt and an ingenious
golfer’s flask, it wasn’t a bad take for the golfers, either.
The winners did even better.
Taking home four cigar humidors were Jay Ware, Brad Timmons, Jason
Rush and Patrick Munoz. The foursome, playing a scramble format that
involved teams having to play at least three drives by every player,
shot a 57.
A 57 that only earned them a victory after a card-off, as the
second place team of Jon Gray, Jeff Ohland, Glen Cowie and Ron
Siegell also shot a 57.
The difference was a birdie by the winners on the par-3 seventh
hole, a stroke that kept the Gray-Ohland-Cowie-Siegell team from
claiming a third Golf Classic win in a row. Still, they did take home
a classy set of poker chips.
Third place, with a 58, were Paul Lundsford, Robert Gian, Furgus
Murphy and Frank Romano, who earned a modern barbecue set each for
their efforts.
As a consolation for the second-place team, they won an
intra-tournament competition among players for the Harbor Boulevard
of Cars, representing Orange Coast Chrysler Jeep Dodge.
In a second intra-competetion among city workers, the Police
Department team of John FitzPatrick, Angelo Morgan, Clint Dieball and
Matt Grimmond were tops with a 62.
Ohland also won the event’s chipping competition, beating out 17
other finalists. Dave Robins, of Theodore Robins Ford, won the
putting contest, claiming the title from four other finalists -- the
original putt, a nasty, breaking 25-footer that was roped off and
kept the strokes tight was so difficult that only a handful sank it.
“It was nice to be able to have a few shots in front of me to be
able to read the greens,” Robins admitted.
Hey, it was good enough for Phil Mickelson at the Masters, right?
As important as these contests were, the spirit of competition
frequently took a clear backseat to the spirit of fun.
“I think, looking around at the excitement, I saw a more relaxed
atmosphere,” said Joe Sperrazza, who runs the club’s pro shop and was
among those instrumental in getting the event off the ground.
Throughout the day, there were audible jokes shouted from one tee
to a green, brief respites at food stops, provided by the likes of
Clayton Shurley, Newport Rib Co. and Pat & Oscar’s and maybe even a
drink or two downed in the afternoon heat.
Another of the event’s organizers, chamber member Lisa Tatman,
showed the day’s overriding sentiment after about nine hours on the
course and at the after-round dinner/award show/auction.
“The foursome was built for fun,” she said of her group, which
included Lisa Mills, Diane Chavez and the Daily Pilot’s Lana Johnson.
Groups that helped build that fun included the Orange County
Market Place, South Coast Plaza and Union Bank.
Plus, there was the country club itself. By all accounts, the
grounds were in tremendous shape and the greens -- featuring newly
painted, white cups -- were at the peak of their already well-known
excellence.
The club’s head groundskeeper, Jim Fetterly, earned repeated kudos
for the course’s shape.
Fetterly knew the importance of the tournament and made sure the
course was ready, Sperrazza said.
“We’re part of the community and we wanted to do something for the
community,” Sperrazza added, pointing out that the chamber could
raise maximum amounts of money by running the event at the municipal
course, where costs could be lower.
The classic’s chairmen were two Pilot personalities, Publisher
Thomas H. Johnson (who won a closest-to-the-pin contest) and
advertising rep Ned Bondie.
Pat Stanley won the longest drive.
Because one of them pretty much pays my check, I feel obligated to
mention those facts (especially the win).
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