ORANGE COUNTY GOLF NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : Tidland’s Confidence Gets a Boost

Chris Tidland is on quite a run, and he’s hoping it has just begun.

Last Saturday, Tidland made a short putt to finish Oklahoma State’s victory in a playoff at the NCAA Division I men’s golf championship at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. Monday, he shot nine under par for 36 holes and was the low qualifier in Columbus for the U.S. Open.

“I was really surprised,” Tidland said by telephone from Tulsa. “After the national championship, I really didn’t come into the Open qualifying with many expectations. I just wanted to play with good players and try to learn something from them.”

Instead, Tidland, a graduate of Valencia High, gave a lesson in consistency. He started with three birdies and no bogeys for a 69 at Brookside Country Club and finished with six birdies and no bogeys for 66 at The Lakes Golf and Country Club.

His was the low score in the 87-player field, which had 76 professionals and 11 amateurs playing for 17 spots. Chip Beck was among four who were one stroke behind Tidland. Bob Tway, Larry Mize and Scott Verplank finished further back.

Pretty nice company.

“It gives me some confidence,” Tidland said, “but I know that I had a real good day and those guys play like that basically all the time.”

So the rest of the summer, Tidland plans to continue trying to improve his game and learn to handle the pressure.

This weekend he will be playing in the Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnston, Pa. Next week is the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.

He hopes to make the U.S. team for the Walker Cup Sept. 7-8 in Wales and plans to turn professional in October.

“I just want to get better because I know those guys out on tour are so good,” he said.

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Oklahoma State’s victory over Stanford was dramatic. The teams finished tied after four rounds, the first time that had happened in the 98-year history of the tournament, so there was a playoff.

Oklahoma State had no room for error in the playoff because one of its players, Leif Westerberg, was already on his way to the British Amateur. Stanford could drop one of five scores.

The first group had three Stanford players and the Cowboys’ Chris Cox. Result: Two Stanford pars and one bogey.

Tidland was in the second group, a fivesome. Everyone reached the green in two on the 420-yard par-4 hole, but Stanford’s Tiger Woods and Notah Begay III were inside the three Oklahoma State golfers.

Tidland, about 60 feet away, rolled his putt to within a foot. Trip Kuehne putted to three feet from 45 feet. Alan Bratton sank his 30-footer.

Woods, from about 20 feet, left it about two inches short and Begay missed an eight-footer, so all the Cowboys needed was one out of the two remaining. They made both.

“I couldn’t see the ball when I putted out on the last hole,” Tidland said, “because I was crying. I had a tap-in and then everybody rushed the green. It was pretty special because those four guys are my best friends.”

The Cowboys were the tournament favorites for the second consecutive season. As they did last year, they had won eight of 14 tournaments, but this time they brought home the NCAA trophy.

“To finally win it was both great and almost a relief,” Tidland said.

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Tidland and Woods were named first-team All-Americans. Tidland, who was also a first-team selection as a sophomore in 1993, shot four-under 284 to finish in a tie for second with Ted Purdy of Arizona, one shot behind champion Chip Spratlin of Auburn. Woods, a Western High graduate, finished two-under 286, in a three-way tie for fifth.

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Good representation: There were several other Orange County golfers at the NCAA men’s tournament. Stanford’s William Yanagisawa, who transferred from UC Irvine, shot 295. USC’s Justin Boatman, from Saddleback College and Dana Hills High, shot 294.

Tulsa’s Scott Gibson, from Huntington Beach High, shot 298.

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Another title: As expected, Arizona State won its third consecutive NCAA Division I women’s golf title last month and Kellee Booth played a key role. Booth, a freshman from Santa Margarita High, didn’t have one of her better tournaments, finishing eight-over 296 for four rounds in Wilmington, N.C.

Booth, who won the 1993 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, was Arizona State’s fourth, and final, scoring player and the Sun Devils beat second-place San Jose State by 26 strokes.

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Quick switch: Nearly two years ago, Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley, one of Orange County’s busiest courses, decided to do something about an annoying logjam on its front nine.

“Anytime you come out there, finish the first or second hole and have to wait for 10 or 15 minutes, it’s something that’s not enjoyable,” said Walt Mitchell, an assistant pro at the course.

So the course swapped front and back nines. Now instead of starting with a par 5, two par 4s and backing up at a par 3, players are spread out over three par 4s and a par 5.

The result: no more gridlock. Mitchell estimates 20-25 minutes are saved per round and more rounds per day on one of the busiest courses in the county.

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County Drives

Short of long, accessible or unplayable--every golf hole is different. Here’s a look at some of the features that make one golf course hole in Orange County stand out.

* Course: Mile Square Golf Course, Fountain Valley

* Hole: No. 10

* Yardage: Blue tees, 545; white tees, 531; red tees, 449

* Description: Long, straight par-5 appears wide open, but can be tricky. Tee box oriented slightly right toward two bunkers in landing zone 220 yards. Green subtly slopes toward fairway, but back left section slopes away.

* Hint: Stay right and you will have a good look at the pin.