still on top of her game, even as an active mother
Richard Dunn
NEWPORT BEACH - As a busy mother, Debbie Albright finds solitude at
the practice range and putting green at Newport Beach Country Club.
And, with kids in their prime and a daughter with golf clubs in her
hands, the five-time Newport Beach women's club champion, originally from
New Zealand, is spending more time commuting to the club from the
family's Corona del Mar home, which is scheduled to be rebuilt soon.
Albright and her husband, Jock, enjoyed a spacious view of the Pacific
Ocean from their old home in CdM, but the neighborhood wasn't kid
friendly, so they pulled up anchor and bought in another part of town.
With two children (Katie, 13, and Charlie, 12) and the family
preparing to live in a nearby rental for 10 months while their new home
gets built, Albright expects to spend less time on the practice greens
come September.
So, for now, with kids attending various summer camps and the big move
another four weeks away, Albright can unwind with leisurely thoughts of
playing in the fourth annual Tea Cup Classic -- Friday at Big Canyon
Country Club with a 2 p.m. tee time.
Albright will celebrate her 43rd birthday the day before Tea Cup
Classic IV. "I'll have to be careful how much bubbly I have the day
before ... but, then again, maybe I'll need to," quipped Albright, an
affable and vivacious blond.
Albright, who finished second in the first two Tea Cup Classics at
Newport Beach Country Club in 1997 and Santa Ana Country Club in '98, is
the only player in the 2000 Tea Cup foursome who actually knows every
competitor personally, including newcomer Colette Taormina (Big Canyon).
Denise Woodard (Mesa Verde Country Club) and two-time defending Tea
Cup champion Marianne Towersey (Santa Ana) join Albright in the
prestigious field for the fourth straight summer.
Outside of Tea Cup Classic IV, Albright won't be playing in many
events. Last year, she played in the Women's Southern California Golf
Association match-play championships and reached the semifinals, but this
year she passed on the event at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, where
Towersey is playing this week.
"I can't fit it all in," Albright said. "I'm too busy with the kids,
and everything else that's going on (the house project and an upcoming
family houseboat vacation). In a few years, I'll be able to take on all
those fun tournaments. I just feel it's important for me to be around the
kids."
These days, with her daughter playing golf, Albright can share the
