Mile Square’s Second Course Is Set to Open a Week Early

The second nine of the Players Course at Mile Square will open Feb. 23, a week ahead of schedule, Mile Square General Manager Scott Chaffin said.

Players may begin making tee times Friday for the new layout, which will cost $35 Monday-Thursday, $45 Friday and $55 Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

“We were tempted to open this week, but then we got all that rain,” Chaffin said. “But it’s ready to be opened. It’s ready to go.”

The front nine of The Players Course opened Nov. 10 for limited play, but the back nine needed a few more months to mature. Only 12 groups could play each day and those playing had to go around the same nine twice.

With the opening of the back nine, the restriction has been lifted and the course will operate all day.

Mile Square, which also offers the Classic Course, is the third Orange County public facility with 36 holes. Pelican Hill and Costa Mesa Country Club are the others.

WATER HAZARD

RiverView in Santa Ana and Dad Miller in Anaheim are operating as modified nine-hole courses because of flooding this week.

RiverView, which runs along the Santa Ana River, likely will have nine holes shut down through the weekend. Dad Miller, where holes No. 4, 5, 16 and 17 are under water, expects to open its full 18 by Friday.

“It’s just the typical thing we get from a big rain,” said Lew Cooper, head professional at RiverView. “It’s something we’ve learned to deal with.”

The fate of RiverView is in the hands of water department officials controlling a dam in Chino Hills. During heavy rains, the dam is opened and the water flows down the Santa Ana River, thus flooding parts of the course.

Cooper said fairways are the only part of the course affected. The tees and greens are elevated enough to stay dry.

DYNAMIC DUO

Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino are the latest to commit to play in the Senior PGA Tour’s Toshiba Senior Classic March 2-4 at Newport Beach Country Club.

Irwin and Trevino share the Senior Tour record for career titles at 29. Irwin, the 1998 Senior Classic champion, is the event’s all-time leading money winner. Trevino is making his seventh consecutive appearance in the event.

JUNIOR CHAMPIONS

Neno Boon-Yaplanun of Irvine and Tina Eng of Monterey Park won the Junior Amateur Golf Scholars tournament Sunday at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena.

Boon-Yaplanun, a sophomore at University High, shot 74 to tie Andy Anderson of Huntington Beach and Joseph Benedetti of Huntington Beach for first place. Boon-Yaplanun won the title based on a card-matching tiebreaker.

Eng, 13, shot 82 and won the girls’ title by six strokes over Jane Chin of Huntington Beach and Julie Kim of Rancho Palos Verdes.

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Tee Times

FEBRUARY

* 14-18: PGA Tour Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, PGA West, La Quinta. Tickets: (888) 672-4673.

* 20: Nissan Open qualifying, Los Serranos GC. Open to all professionals and amateurs with an attested USGA index of 2.3 or less.

* 21: SCPGA Senior-Junior Pro-Pro, El Toro Marine GC.

* 22-25: Nissan Open, Riviera CC. Tickets: (877) 614-6245.

* 26: Toshiba Senior Classic Open qualifying, Strawberry Farms GC.

* 26: Tustin Pro-Am, Tustin Ranch GC. Cost is $225. Benefits Assistance League of Tustin, which provides supplies for local schools as well as SAT and PSAT preparation seminars. Information: (714) 544-6203.