Sapp stirs in event
Former UC Irvine golfer Garrett Sapp had quite a tournament last weekend in the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif.
The two-time All-Big West Conference honoree was tied for the lead heading into the third round of the Nationwide Tour event. He finished tied for ninth at six-under-par 204, six shots behind champion Daniel Chopra in the fog-abbreviated tournament. Tournament officials relegated the event to 54 holes.
Sapp (67-66-71 – 204) tied for third in both driving accuracy (87.2% fairways hit) and greens in regulation (83.3%).
Still, the event marked a breakout of sorts for Sapp, the 2003 CIF Southern Section individual champion as a Gahr High golfer. Sapp tied for second in the 2004 junior world championships in Japan (11-under-par 277) in helping the U.S. to victory.
The Cerritos native played for UCI from 2004-06.
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The current UCI men’s golf team will defend its title when the conference championships begin May2 at Mission Viejo Country Club.
The Anteaters will attempt to claim the program’s seventh team title in the last 10 years in the two-day event.
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Irvine’s Oak Creek Golf Club is in the midst of its breast cancer awareness in partnership with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The highlight will be the third annual ladies golf tournament at 1 p.m. May 3.
The event has 144 spots. Cost is $135 for the general public and includes golf, a before-round clinic with Oak Creek’s director of golf, Eric Lohman, and Pelican Hill Golf Club’s instruction director Glenn Deck, on-course contests, a buffet dinner and a special drawing with proceeds benefiting the Komen Orange County affiliate.
The format will be individual stroke play with multiple flights in both gross and net divisions. To sign up, contact David Jacobo at (949) 653-5301 or at djacobo@oakcreekgolfclub.com. Oak Creek is celebrating breast cancer awareness with pink-colored flags and tee markers.
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Part-time Corona del Mar resident John Cook took one extra hole to claim his second Champions Tour title of the year Sunday at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Lutz, Fla.
Cook finished nine-under-par (66-65-73 – 204); he then birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Jay Don Blake on the par-71 TPC Tampa Bay course.
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BRYCE ALDERTON is the Daily Pilot golf writer. He can be reached at balderto78@yahoo.com.