Home sweet home?

This is as close to a home match as any professional golfer is going to get and now that John Cook begins his second full season on the Champions Tour he intends to be an inhospitable host.

Cook, who owns a home in Corona del Mar, grew up in Palos Verdes and used to come to what was then called Irvine Coast Country Club and play high school matches.

“We would get down this direction to play some of the Orange County teams,” Cook said. “I used to come down here quite a bit and play Mesa Verde, Irvine Coast Country Club, now Newport Beach Country Club. I always was very familiar with the surroundings here.”

Cook and his wife, Jan, have lived in the area about five years now and have acclimated to the community.

“Being a part-time resident here, we certainly know what the community thinks of the Hoag Hospital and what it does for the community and how that event can help that along so it can generate the funds needed for programs that Hoag provides for this community,” Cook said. “So I feel a big part of this community. We feel like this is home. This event is a big, big part of the community.”

Newport Beach Country Club is also a favorite of Cook’s.

“The golf course is immaculate,” Cook said. “The golf course is just wonderful. To see the green, it’s as good a course condition-wise as we play. The greens are seaside poa annua, so their personality shows differently each day. That’s what I grew up on, so I’m comfortable on the seaside poa annua greens. But the golf course is fantastic. It’s as good as we play.”

So with his familiarity of the course should the 51-year-old be considered a favorite?

“I’m very familiar, I can get here,” Cook said joking. “I will not get lost coming to the golf course.”

Cook has found his way pretty easily on the Champions Tour. In three years and 31 events he has already won twice, including his second ever appearance on the senior circuit.

“I didn’t really play much of a full schedule from 2002 until last year,” Cook said. “I thought it might take a little while to kind of get acclimated and get competitive again. I got competitive fairly quickly.”

He hopes the learning curve is just as quick with Newport Beach Country Club. This will be the second time he has played it as a professional. He finished tied for 13th last year.

“I feel like each week is a competitive week,” Cook said. “I feel like if my game is in shape, there’s a chance I could win. I feel like I have a chance to win every single week.”

That wasn’t the case a few years ago on the PGA Tour. Cook was struggling and hadn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2001 Reno-Tahoe Open. He had a handful of top-10 finishes from 2002 to 2006, but wasn’t having much fun and was eyeing his 50th birthday.

Cook was used to competing every week and when that wasn’t possible, he knew his time on the PGA Tour was short.

“I was that way (competitive) years ago on the regular tour. But as recently as maybe 2000, you have to kind of pick your spots,” Cook said. “Four or five times a year maybe thought you had a chance to win.”

Then came the Champions Tour and his second tournament he entered, the AT&T; Championship he won. Then last year he successfully defended his crown.

“There is just familiarity with the golf course,” Cook said. “We played the Texas Open there for a number of years. It was always one of my favorites back then. I felt comfortable there the first — it was my second week on the Champions Tour. I felt good all week.”

That feeling of familiarity is what Cook hopes will help him this week. In three events this year, he has two top-15 finishes.

“I started out at Hawaii and played OK” Cook said. “I think I finished sixth there and 12th at Boca. Did not have a good week at Naples at all, but that was my own fault. Had nothing to do with anything but me. So not quite the start that I had really wanted, but we’ve got plenty of events left and plenty of time left.”

It would be nice if it happens here close to home.

“You’ve got to be on top of your game, and I haven’t been quite on top of my game this year,” Cook said. “Been working pretty hard and would love to start it right here in my backyard.”