Jones Cup Preview: Newport Beach looks for improvement

Things were in a bit of a whirlwind at this time last year for Tony Letendre.

The same week that he started as head professional at Newport Beach Country Club, he participated in his first Jones Cup golf tournament.

Letendre remembers it well, despite his team’s forgettable finish, placing last at its home course. This year’s Jones Cup, which starts at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Santa Ana Country Club, is the day after Letendre’s one-year anniversary at Newport Beach.

“It’s the start of my second year,” Letendre said. “What better way to start it off than with the Jones Cup?”

Newport Beach will aim for a better finish in the 14th annual event, which also features teams from Santa Ana, Mesa Verde, Big Canyon and Shady Canyon. Newport Beach’s team this year, again captained by Letendre, is a mix of veteran players and first-time competitors. It includes professional Carlo Borunda, ladies’ champion Debbie Fleming, men’s champion Ted Embry and senior men’s champion Al Preusch.

Fleming has the most Jones Cup experience on the team, as this is her fifth one. Borunda is another returner. He was on also on the team the last time the two-best ball tournament was held at Santa Ana, in 2009. NBCC finished third that year.

Embry and Preusch won their respective club championship divisions for the first time, and thus are first-time participants in the Jones Cup.

Newport Beach has won the tournament just once, in 2004. Borunda said the team’s members had a practice round at Santa Ana on June 18 to get ready for this year’s incarnation.

“We’re trying to lick our wounds from last year,” Borunda said. “We were very gracious hosts … [but] I really feel good about our team this year. In this type of format, it’s all about birdies.”

Newport Beach had six of them last year, finishing at just two-under par. It was not enough to compete with back-to-back champion Big Canyon (12-under), which won a . But the internal battle on Newport Beach’s team near the end of the round was for who could make the most birdies, Letendre or Borunda.

Letendre won the bet, sinking a long putt at No. 18. He said it won him back the $2 that Borunda had claimed earlier in the day on the putting green.

A similar type of bet could be in store for this year.

“Carlo and I, we always bet internally on who will make the most birdies,” Letendre said. “It doesn’t matter what the dollar amount is. It’s more that I don’t want to lose to Carlo.”

Letendre hopes for similar good fortune in beating the other teams in the event.

“We were good hosts, and I’m sticking to that story,” he said. “Hopefully we won’t finish fifth again this year.”