GOLF:

The members of the Santa Ana Country Club team stood off to the back of the 18th green at Newport Beach Country Club wondering if this was going to finally be the year they won the Jones Cup.

Since its inception in 2000, the team has been shut out. Not that they are a terrible team, just haven’t been fortunate enough to win.

Bad breaks seem to follow the team and despite how well they play, the trophy seems to elude them every year.

“We can’t seem to win the darn thing,” said directory of golf, Mike Reehl. “We’re just jinxed.”

It certainly seems that way. In 2001 Santa Ana was on its own course, tied with Big Canyon Country Club after regulation. They pushed on the first playoff hole and then went to the 18th hole. Bob Lovejoy, director of golf at Big Canyon, hit his drive off a railroad tie, but it managed to escape the hazard. He went on to birdie the hole and win the Jones Cup.

“That was incredibly bad luck on our part,” Reehl said. “I couldn’t believe what his ball did.”

This year wasn’t so dramatic, but no less painful. The four teams (Santa Ana, Big Canyon, Mesa Verde and Newport Beach) were all fairly close to each other. Santa Ana could only make two birdies on the front nine in the two-person best ball format.

“We missed a lot of opportunities on the front,” said Chris Veitch, who is Santa Ana’s senior club champion. “I had a couple I could have made. We all did.”

The club didn’t post a bogey and was holding tight at two-under par as they made the turn.

Then the birdies that weren’t dropping on the front nine, started falling. They also managed to make two huge par saves on the 17th hole. Three of the five teammates were in the trap on the par-three and two of them got up and down to save pars.

On the final hole, Reehl made a 20-foot putt that can be listed as “granddaughter aided.”

“I was standing over the putt and heard my granddaughter call out to me,” Reehl said. “She said, ‘poppy’ and that actually made me smile. I think it calmed me down.”

Reehl drained the putt, men’s club champion, John Gilchrist followed with a four-foot birdie putt and they were tied with Big Canyon. Newport Beach also got in the playoff.

It didn’t take long for Santa Ana to get let down yet again. Big Canyon had an eagle and a birdie on the last hole to win the Jones Cup for the sixth time in nine years.

“We were close again, but didn’t win,” Reehl said. “We were close last year as well and didn’t quite do enough to win.”

Maybe the country club is jinxed. Maybe before next year’s competition, Reehl hires a witch doctor to spread good luck potion on all of the golf clubs of the players.

“It is hard to understand,” Reehl said. “Our players are just as good, but it just hasn’t happened for us.”

Veitch, who has played in four of the events, doesn’t have any explanation for the streak, either.

“The faces change from year to year,” Veitch said. “We just can’t seem to get a win.”

But until they do, they will have to heed the battle cry of the Brooklyn Dodgers, “Wait ’til next year.”

“We’re going to keep showing up and competing,” Veitch said. “We will get it done one of these years. It’s not the Brooklyn Dodgers versus the Yankees, but it does kinda feel that way.”

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears on Thursdays.