Jacobs in Tune at Dana Point

Jim Thorpe and John Jacobs have been friends for too many years to count. They’ve played hundreds of practice rounds together and shared more than a few bottles of whiskey. But when the cigar-smoking tandem teamed up for the Hyundai Team Matches on Saturday at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, Thorpe learned something new about his Champions Tour buddy.

“He made a birdie putt at No. 9 and he started singing,” Thorpe said. “I never knew he could sing until he made that birdie putt.”

Jacobs and Thorpe made beautiful music together for most of the back nine, birdied the 16th and 17th holes and defeated Doug Tewell and Bruce Lietzke, 2 and 1. They will play defending champions Allen Doyle and Dana Quigley in the Champions Tour final today. Doyle and Quigley defeated Bruce Fleisher and David Graham, 3 and 1.

The winners will get $100,000 each plus a new car. The second-place finishers get $50,000 each.

“We look forward to playing those guys,” said Thorpe, who said he would fly to Las Vegas Saturday night and return for this morning’s final. “We’re gonna stick it to them a little bit.”

Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia, defending champions of the PGA Tour matches, reached the final with a 5-and-4 victory over Peter Jacobsen and Scott McCarron. Calcavecchia had five birdies in eight holes starting at No. 4, but credited a Couples birdie at No. 9 for turning the match around. Couples and Calcavecchia led, 2-up, after a McCarron birdie on No. 8, but Couples drained a slick 12-footer to give the team a 3-up lead at the turn.

“Any time you lose a hole, you want to get it back,” Calcavecchia said.

Couples and Calcavecchia will play Rich Beem and Peter Lonard in the final. Beem and Lonard defeated Jerry Kelly and Chris Smith, 3 and 2.

In the LPGA matches, defending champions Lorie Kane and Janice Moodie defeated Grace Park and Beth Bauer, 4 and 3, to put defending champions in all three finals. Kane and Moodie will play Dottie Pepper and Juli Inkster, 2 and 1 winners over Laura Diaz and Heather Bowie. Pepper and Inkster won four consecutive team matches before losing to Park and Wendy Ward in the first round last year.

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At a Glance

What: Hyundai Team Matches

Where: Monarch Beach Golf Links, Dana Point

When: Championship matches, today at 10 a.m.