Big Canyon again runner-up

The 18th hole at Big Canyon Country Club actually served as the final hole of the front nine for Tuesday’s 16th annual Jones Cup golf tournament.

Teams started on the back nine, which featured two par-fives, Nos. 16 and 18. Host Big Canyon did well on No. 16 in the two best-ball format, as head professional and team captain Robert Pang, as well as men’s club champion Taylor Wood, each collected birdies.

No. 18 was a different story, as Big Canyon carded two pars.

At the end of the round, missed opportunities like these irked Pang. They stopped Big Canyon from winning the title on its home course. The hosts, who also featured professional Chris Valeriano, senior club champion Gary Singer and ladies club champion Kayleigh Horn, finished second at 8-under par.

Newport Beach Country Club won the five-team event at 10-under. Defending champion Shady Canyon, Santa Ana and Mesa Verde country clubs all tied for third at -7.

Big Canyon, which finished second for the second straight year after losing in a one-hole playoff last year, was denied its 10th title at the event. Also, for the first of four times hosting the Jones Cup, Big Canyon didn’t come away with the title after earning it in 2002, 2007 and 2011.

“We didn’t make that many putts,” said Pang when it was all over, though he added that he was happy for his friends Carlo Borunda and Tony Letendre at Newport Beach. “We didn’t play the 18th hole probably our best, walking away with two pars. You walk away with two pars, and you lose by two. It’s an easy par-five that you’re looking at right there. It’s too bad.

“In this format, in the two-best ball of five, you need to birdie all of the par-fives. If you do that, you’re at eight-under automatically. Then you [try to] make a little magic happen.”

Pang birdied No. 10 to start off the round on a positive note, but Big Canyon didn’t get another birdie until Horn came through with a birdie on the par-3 No. 15, rolling one in from about 18 feet away.

After Pang and Wood got their birdies at No. 16, the hosts appeared to be in good shape. But No. 18 did not go well. Wood’s third shot went in the wet stuff.

“We didn’t play well for us, so that’s what is disappointing,” said Wood, a former All-American at USC. “I had a super-downhill lie, and just hit it fat in the water, which I haven’t done in a long time. It was a bit shocking to do that. We were in good position to take advantage there, make a couple of birdies and ride that into the back nine.”

Instead, Big Canyon sputtered and followed that up with a bogey at the par-4 No. 1, as only Wood could make par. That dropped the hosts back to -3 for the round, and last place.

“A bogey on one is, to me, worse than not making birdies on par-fives,” Wood said. “It’s a pretty easy hole.”

But Big Canyon caught up quickly. Pang had an eagle on No. 2 after sinking about a 15-foot putt, and Wood birdied that hole as well.

Wood also birdied No. 3, while Valeriano, playing in his first Jones Cup, came up with a nice par save after his tee shot found the bunker. The team needed it, and Big Canyon was suddenly tied for the lead at -7.

“Those are the kind of things you’ve got build off of, [but] after that we went kind of dead,” Pang said. “From then on, we only made one birdie [from Pang at No. 6 after a nice chip to six feet]. Only one birdie coming down the stretch, and obviously a lot of holes that we could have taken advantage of and we didn’t.”

Newport Beach put the pressure on, earning two birdies at No. 8. Big Canyon’s players certainly noticed as the team’s scoreboard operator, former Orange Coast College golf player Jem Young, moved Newport Beach’s score to -10.

Big Canyon was unable to make up any more ground in the final two holes. Singer, in particular, seemed to have many putts on the round that just missed.

“I don’t know how many edges he burned today,” Pang said. “He touched a lot of cups, and that’s what you’re looking to do in this format. It’s having a lot of looks, and getting a chance to make putts. You really have to make a lot of putts, and obviously we fell a few putts short.”

Big Canyon, easily the tournament’s most successful club with its nine titles, will have to wait until next year to try to extend its dominance.

This year’s Jones Cup had been slated for Mesa Verde, but the course is having work done on its bunkers. Mesa Verde will play host to the 17th Jones Cup.

“To be honest with you, I probably play some of the other courses better than here,” Wood said. “To me, this is a hard golf course. If you hit it longer, it doesn’t really reward a long hitter, like Shady does or some of the other courses. You know, it’s nice to play on your home course, because I know these greens so well ... Then again, we didn’t make that many putts today.”