No good luck for Mesa Verde

NEWPORT BEACH — Noah Mayne and Grandpa John could only stay during four holes at the Jones Cup Tuesday.

The Mesa Verde Country Club quintet could only hope Noah hung around longer. The 9-year-old boy is considered a good luck charm by many.

Mesa Verde needed some of that good luck at Newport Beach Country Club. Actually, it needed any help it could get, maybe even some from a kid.

Noah, who plays at MVCC and supported the team during the first four holes, was the batboy for the Fresno State baseball team during the Bulldogs’ magical run to the NCAA championship last month. He was known as a good luck charm by his other grandfather, Mike Mayne, Fresno State’s pitching coach and several of the players.

But that ended up not mattering much for Mesa Verde. As it was Tom Sargent, Chris Gilley, Ryan Gale, Dave Tanchuck and Madelaine Campbell were just way too unlucky in the ninth annual Jones Cup.

The 2006 champions, who also won the inaugural Jones Cup, couldn’t collect enough birdies to make it to a three-team playoff. The Mesa Verde quintet sat at a table, ate and drank as Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Big Canyon battled for the Jones Cup.

Big Canyon came out on top, but that too didn’t matter much to Mesa Verde. By that time, Gale and Tanchuck had already left.

After 18 holes, they were done.

Mesa Verde finished at eight-under-par 63 in the two-best-ball format, and in fourth place, better known as last place.

In this tournament that has bragging rights as the ultimate reward, Mesa Verde will most likely endure the majority of the ribbing until next year’s Jones Cup.

“We didn’t play very well,” said Tom Sargent, Mesa Verde team captain and the club’s head pro. “We made putts we had to make, not the ones we wanted to make.”

Just after Tanchuck, the senior men’s champ of MVCC, nailed a birdie on No. 6, things went south for the club. The team had been at three-under, but after it bogeyed hole No. 7, it lost a stroke and plenty of momentum.

The quintet never could quite get out of the funk.

“That took a little air out of our sails,” said Sargent, who looked to an old saying to shed some sort of explanation for the tricky greens at Newport Beach Country Club. “If wishers were horses then beggars would be riders.

“Shoulda, coulda, woulda.”

Sargent expressed no such waffling earlier in the week. He said, “We’re gonna whip ‘em,” when talking about his prediction for the ninth annual Jones Cup.

However, for his part, that was mostly said tongue-in-cheek. The personable Sargent, liked by most, enjoys joking with opponents and teammates.

Though they lost, the MVCC five seemed to be having fun during the tournament. Much of that had to with their team captain.

“We always have fun,” he said. “If you’re not doing that you’re not playing golf.”

After Campbell collected a birdie on 13, Sargent placed a dollar bill on the seat of her golf cart because that’s what they do for certain birdies apparently.

Gilley didn’t offer much laughs, but some smiles because the club’s assistant pro hit a couple of birdies.

Gale had some fun later.

On 17, where Fletcher Jones Motorcars offered a free Mercedes for a hole-in-one, Gale, the Mesa Verde men’s champion, smiled at his wife after she told him to go win her a new car.

“This one is for my wife,” Gale said before his tee shot.

It went into the water.

Shortly after, the MVCC group realized it was four behind the leader with just two holes remaining. They new they were done.

“Good luck,” Gale told Sargent after reading off the scores to him.

Tuesday, Mesa Verde had no such luck.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].