Golf’s Jones Cup: Newport Beach ends drought

Five days before the Jones Cup, Tony Letendre called it. He said Newport Beach Country Club was long overdue for a win at the Jones Cup.

The head professional at Newport Beach was on to something.

It had been 11 years since Newport Beach last claimed its first and only Jones Cup. Newport Beach can now add a second one to its trophy case.

Newport Beach ended the drought on Tuesday, winning the golf tournament featuring the five local country clubs in a two-best-ball format. Newport Beach finished at 10-under-par 134 during the one-day event, edging host Big Canyon, which has historically owned the Jones Cup, by two strokes.

The 16th annual Jones Cup went to Newport Beach, which boasted Letendre, club pro Carlo Borunda, women’s champion Debbie Fleming, men’s champion Jeff Bloom and senior men’s champion Jan-Erik Palm. The quintet started and finished strong, preventing Big Canyon from taking first for the 10th time.

Great play by Borunda and Fleming on the back nine lifted Newport Beach to the top. Borunda birdied three of the final six holes, while Fleming birdied two of the final three holes.

“We all decided that we had to make birdies this year and be aggressive,” said Fleming, who birdied three times, tying her for the team lead with Borunda. “Tony and Carlo said we’re going to make a lot of birdies [and we did as a team by recording 11].

“Actually last night I had a dream that I was making everything. I was chipping it in. I was rolling every putt I looked at. It was just awesome. And I woke up, and I was like, ‘Yippee! It’s here!’”

When Fleming and her teammates showed up to compete in the Jones Cup, each group teed off on the back nine. Mesa Verde went first, followed by Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Shady Canyon and Big Canyon.

No one from Newport Beach birdied the par-4 No. 10 hole, only Palm, Fleming and Borunda shot par. The birdies came for Newport Beach on the next hole, a par-4. Fleming and Palm sunk birdie putts, and Bloom got into the birdie action on the following hole, a par-3.

Newport Beach was at 3-under par, and it stayed with that score through the first six holes, playing even with Santa Ana. Then Letendre gave Newport Beach the lead.

From 25 feet out, Letendre nailed a birdie putt, his ball rolling down to find the cup. The impressive putt put Newport Beach at 4-under, giving it a one-stroke lead against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana went ahead after recording two birdies on the ninth hole, but Newport Beach caught up. Bloom produced a birdie on No. 9, a par-4, his second birdie of the day, helping Newport Beach close out the front nine strong.

Heading into the back nine, Newport Beach and Santa Ana found themselves knotted at 5-under. Newport Beach played well through the first nine holes, everyone except Borunda had a birdie.

“I told the team when we first started, when we got our team together, that we had to make three birdies apiece,” Borunda said. “I didn’t want to be the one who didn’t. That was on my mind the whole day as I was batting zero for nine.”

Borunda’s first try for a birdie on No. 1, he wound up way short.

Only Letendre shot par, while the rest bogeyed the par-4 hole. Newport Beach dropped to 4-under, still tied with Santa Ana, which also had a par and bogey at the beginning of the back nine.

Letendre almost gave Newport Beach the lead again. He had an opportunity for an eagle on No. 2 a par-5 hole. His putt was eight feet away from the cup, missing it by a foot.

“I had an eagle putt and I missed it!” Letendre said, before he sped off in his golf cart to the next hole.

No. 3 featured the hole-in-one prize. Whoever made it in one shot from 164 yards out won a new Mercedes-Benz. No one from Newport Beach came close, and no one from Newport Beach could birdie the hole, either.

Newport Beach stayed at five under, still even with Santa Ana, as well as Shady Canyon, the group playing behind Newport Beach. The three teams would fall behind Mesa Verde.

Borunda’s first birdie, a four-footer on the par-4 No. 4 hole, brought Newport Beach at 6-under. His birdie could’ve been for the lead, but Letendre missed a makable putt from almost the same distance as Borunda’s attempt.

Mesa Verde extended its lead to two strokes against Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Shady Canyon. The one team to cut the deficit in half was Newport Beach. Borunda birdied for the second time in three holes. The birdie on the 15th hole was from way out, almost 40 feet, and it climbed into the par-5 hole to put Newport Beach at 7-under.

After watching Borunda and Letendre make two tough birdie putts for par on the 16th hole, Fleming delivered for Newport Beach. Before she attempted a 12-foot birdie, Fleming asked Borunda for assistance on her putt.

Whatever Borunda said worked. Fleming made the putt, giving Newport Beach the lead at eight under. Mesa Verde bogeyed and made par on No. 8, leaving it at 7-under, tied with Big Canyon.

As Mesa Verde and Santa Ana each finished at 7-under-par 137, Newport Beach began to distance itself on the par-four No. 8 hole. The team saw Borunda make a 20-foot birdie putt, and Fleming followed that up with a 10-foot putt for birdie, leaving Newport Beach at 10-under, two strokes better than Big Canyon.

When Newport Beach wrapped up the final hole, it didn’t go celebrate.

“If I go have a beer we might have to have a playoff, so I better not [leave],” Fleming said.

There would be no playoff involving Big Canyon for the second straight year. The hosts had three chances at birdie on the par-4 hole and failed.

For the first time Big Canyon did not win the Jones Cup on its home soil. Mesa Verde, Santa Ana and Shady Canyon shared third place.

“It’s incredible,” Borunda said of Newport Beach winning the Jones Cup for the first time since 2004. “I know for Tony and myself, you know, we want to represent the professional staff there [at Newport Beach]. We want to make our members proud, especially our champions. They work all year to win their championships and they were fantastic champions. We’re so proud of them.”