Costa Mesa City Golf Championships ready to tee off

Some of the best golfers around are headed to Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club this weekend.

The club is again hosting the 47th annual Will Jordan Classic, also known as the Costa Mesa City Championship. The two-day tournament starts Saturday and boasts a total field of more than 300 golfers, in the championship flight, first flight, second flight and senior flight, according to Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club director of golf Kyle Wilson.

The championship flight will begin play Saturday on the par-70 Mesa Linda Course, while the other flights start on the par-72 Los Lagos Course.

The tournament is named for Costa Mesa’s former mayor.

“It’s become a notable tournament for the better college players, the better players in the area and even outside of the area,” Wilson said. “Primarily, I would say that’s a) because of the competition, and b) because of the golf course itself. This year, the course is going to be in maybe the best condition it’s been in. We had favorable rain in the wintertime, so we stayed green a lot longer. The golf course is immaculate right now. Our superintendent Jim [Fetterly] has done an extraordinary job.”

Wilson said that last year’s championship flight champion Ramiz Jamal, who golfs for UC Irvine, will be back to try to defend his title. Last year’s runner-up Josh McCollum, who has golfed at Orange Coast College and played for Chico State last year, also will return.

Other notable participants include 2005 Costa Mesa City Championship winner Doug Martinez, 2001 winner Mike Carpenter and 1997 winner Bob Valerio. Jim George, who won the tournament in its first year in 1973, still competes in the senior flight.

“[The field] has gotten really good over the last five to seven years,” Wilson said. “We get a lot of college players coming from all over the state, and obviously we have a lot of them that are local kids.”

Ryan Knapp, who played at Estancia High, OCC and UC Irvine, is another notable entrant, along with Danny Lane and Will Tipton.

Pete and Vito Di Bernardo, who each recently graduated from Edison High, also are part of the field.

Several current OCC players will also compete, including Myoung Kim, Connor O’Hern and Bryce Sheridan. OCC men’s golf coach Sean Collins is the tournament director.

Wilson has been at the club for 20 years working under former head golf professional Brad Booth, who just retired this year. He said he looks forward to a great weekend.

“We’ve done a lot of renovations there, inside the clubhouse, on the driving range, on the golf course,” Wilson said. “It’s in really good shape, for players and for spectating.”

Tee times for the championship flight Saturday range from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. McCollum is scheduled to tee off at 6 a.m., followed by a group that includes Jamal and Knapp at 6:10.

For a full list of Saturday’s tee times, visit the Costa Mesa Country Club website.

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