No Battle this season

Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high schools will not play a head-to-head boys’ golf match this year. Coaches from both teams, which are in separate leagues, tried to coordinate a competition, but couldn’t agree on a date.

The teams have traditionally played each other during spring break at Pelican Hill Golf Club. It’s known as the Battle of the Bay, yet the rival boys’ golf teams battle for the Pelican Cup. Spring break in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District is April 11-15. Newport Coach Scott Tarnow said the option was available to play at Pelican again during that time.

CdM Coach Mike Starkweather said several of his players are playing in other tournaments during spring break, so he was reluctant to schedule a match during that time.

Newport, CdM and Aliso Niguel played a three-way match March 3 at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel. CdM (9-1) shot 202 to win while Newport (5-5) finished third at 210.

Newport had already scheduled the maximum amount of matches (excluding tournaments) allowed by CIF (24 including league finals).

Tarnow said he and Starkweather talked about scheduling a date six weeks prior to the season’s start.

“I also said, ‘Let’s not call it a match, but do a little Ryder Cup-style event.’ I didn’t get a response,” Tarnow said.

The last time the teams played head to head there was controversy. Initially Tarnow said both teams were disqualified after two scoring discrepancies were discovered April 14. The teams had tied, 386-386, in the 18-hole match.

A few weeks after the match, Tarnow received clarification from a CIF Southern Section golf committee member that Newport should be awarded a 386-387 win. Starkweather never conceded victory.

The Sailors had beaten CdM three straight years before last season’s crazy finish.

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Estancia and Newport will each have two teams in Monday’s Mesa Verde Tournament at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa.

Twenty-eight four-player teams from 19 schools will compete in the tournament, which will use the Stableford scoring system. In this system, the more points the better.

Players earn points for certain scores. A par earns 1 point, a birdie 3, an eagle 5 and a hole-in-one or double-eagle 10.

A coach will keep score for each group, said Art Perry, Estancia’s coach and tournament chairman.

Tee off is noon.

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Conde Nast Traveler readers voted Pelican Hill the No. 1 golf resort in California.

The Newport Coast-resort ranked among the top two worldwide with a 96.6 score. This result is published in the magazine’s April 2011 issue.

The score takes ratings from eight categories. Pelican was the only California golf resort to reach perfect scores in the categories of course design/access and golf staff/services. The 36-hole resort topped all state golf properties in five of eight categories including food/dining, overall design and activities/facilities.

The results came from the magazine’s Readers’ Choice survey last year, when 26,000 readers voted on more than 10,000 properties worldwide.

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BRYCE ALDERTON is the golf writer for the Daily Pilot. He can be reached by e-mail at balderto78@yahoo.com.