Fifty years ago, people wore big hair and bell-bottoms in denim and corduroy, “The Sting” won the Oscar for best picture and one of the most popular municipal golf championships in Southern California was born.
The Costa Mesa Country Club, home to two public 18-hole golf courses, Los Lagos and Mesa Linda, hosted its first city championship in 1973, also billed as the Will Jordan Classic, named after a former mayor.
The Costa Mesa City Championship, which will be played Saturday and Sunday on the two courses in four amateur flights, has been among the most well-attended city golf championships in the Southland because of its long tradition of excellent competition and the fact that amateurs play the two-round championship on two different courses. The Open Championship Flight caps at about 120 players each year.
Former Orange Coast College and Costa Mesa High standout Bryce Sheridan is the defending champion. For Sheridan, who grew up playing the Costa Mesa courses, it was his first title, carding a seven-under-par 135, following years of finishing second, third and fourth.
“(Sheridan) had been a runner-up once or maybe twice, and last year he won his first championship,” Costa Mesa Director of Golf Kyle Wilson said.
Sheridan is also a former OCC football punter and long-drive champion in golf. In 2013, Sheridan qualified for the RE/Max World Long Drive Championship with a 378-yard blast in a district qualifier.
Others who usually contend for a title include Connor O’Brien, Mitch Johns, Nicholas Pham, Tyler Annear, Scott Blair and Ryan Knapp, a former Estancia High, OCC and UC Irvine standout. Knapp is a three-time runner-up and his brother, Jake, plays on the Canadian Tour. Johns is a former Newport Harbor High and University of Oxford golfer.
Top players and past champions include Ed Susolik, Jeff Coburn, Marc Reyes and Josh Gingrich, who once played quarterback for the Orange Coast football team.
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