NINTH ANNUAL JONES CUP:

NEWPORT BEACH — Will Tipton played the waiting game to perfection Tuesday at the ninth annual Jones Cup.

After one birdie in his first 16 holes, the Big Canyon Country Club men’s champion birdied No. 17 and 18, helping send his team to 11-under-par 60 in the two-best-ball format.

Big Canyon was the first team in the clubhouse, then the rest of the team — captain Bob Lovejoy, fellow pro Robert Pang, ladies’ champ Martha Redfearn and senior champ Warren Caves — had to join in the waiting.

Nobody thought 11-under would hold up on the par-71 course.

Redfearn went for a margarita in the meantime, before learning that Santa Ana Country Club and host Newport Beach Country Club had matched Big Canyon at 11-under. There would be a three-team playoff, a first in Jones Cup history.

But the Big Canyon contingent could drink plenty more margaritas later. Their dynasty lives on.

Tipton made a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 18 in the playoff and Lovejoy birdied it, helping Big Canyon win its second straight Jones Cup title and sixth in nine years. Santa Ana and Newport Beach both recorded two pars on the playoff hole.

“We started out the day and said that 10 [under par] would probably be a good score,” said Tipton, who missed the tournament last year as he was out of town. “But, you know, you’re watching the leaderboard all day. Santa Ana is nowhere to be found, and next thing you know, they’re 10 under. When we saw Newport one behind coming into the last hole, we figured we were dead. We figured, ‘OK, we’re going to lose by one, but it was a good team effort and way to go.’ We snuck in there, that’s all I can say. I guess we back-doored it.”

Tipton had three birdies, including the one on par-three No. 17 where he hit it within a foot of the hole, to go with the eagle. It was crucial to make it on the green on the drastically sloping No. 17, even if he couldn’t quite get a hole-in-one to win a new Mercedes.

“They gave us a very friendly pin position,” Tipton said of the hole being near the front of the green. “Usually there it’s back right, and the water is looming. It seems like Fletcher Jones wanted to give that darn S-Class away. But still, it’s no easy pin position. You miss it left, you’re dead. That was one I just happened to get in close. If I missed that, it’s either two [strokes] or four because it’s dead downhill.”

Lovejoy, who has been part of the Big Canyon team since the beginning of Jones Cup, also had three birdies on the day, as did Pang. Lovejoy’s booming drive — past Tipton — on the playoff hole helped set up his last one.

“The old guys have to do something better than the young guys,” Lovejoy said. “It’s the club, not me.”

Caves had two birdies, including a chip-in that ended up being crucial on No. 18. Last year, it was Caves’ 20-foot birdie putt that helped Big Canyon earn a one-shot win over Mesa Verde in the four-team tournament.

“I thought I could make it, to be honest with you,” Caves said of this year’s big shot. “I thought I had a chance. It wasn’t a model birdie. It didn’t seem like I was going to make birdie after my first shot, my second shot or my third shot. But, you never know. You’ve got to keep grinding away. You never quit.”

Added Tipton with a grin: “[Caves] birdies 18 every year.”

Big Canyon started fast Tuesday. Lovejoy and Pang each had two birdies in the first four holes, along with one from Caves, as the defending champs quickly took the lead and moved to five-under.

After that, Big Canyon would get no other birdies — aside from Tipton’s long make at No. 8 — until Lovejoy birdied No. 14. Then again, Big Canyon also had no bogeys on the course, which players agreed was in excellent shape.

“We had a fun day all the way around,” Lovejoy said. “The big thing was that we didn’t make any mistakes. We had no bogeys, we played consistent golf all the way around and we made some birdies when we needed it.”

Nobody birdied par-five No. 15 as Big Canyon missed a chance. But Pang, who came back to birdie No. 16, said that was “when the game face went on.”

Redfearn was the only one without a birdie, but she came close on several attempts. It prompted her son, Chad, to wonder, “Mom, how many are you going to have go that close?” after she nearly pitched in at No. 11.

But Lovejoy said her steady pars were also important.

“When we went through that middle stretch, her ball counted quite a few times,” he said. “It was very important.”

Important, like winning the Jones Cup. It doesn’t get old for Big Canyon.

“It is kind of special to come beat a team at its home course,” Caves said. “That’s a little bit of a special victory. You’re kind of expected to win at home, but to win away, that’s harder.”

The Big Canyon players know it, because they can remember their last-place finish in 2006. Lovejoy, Caves and Pang were part of that team at Mesa Verde that year.

“You’re not playing for second place, I can tell you that,” Pang said. “You’ve got the club champion, the senior club champion, the ladies’ champion and two golf professionals. We’re here to win, but it’s fun. We had a good time.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].