Seeking Mesa crown

Athletics has always come fairly easily to Eric Vallely, a high school volleyball and basketball standout at Newport Harbor who went on to play volleyball at UCLA, where his father, John, played on NCAA championship teams under legendary basketball coach John Wooden in 1969 and 1970.

But despite the younger Vallely’s exposure to golf at an early age — his grandfather was an original member of the Newport Beach Country Club, then known as the Irvine Country Club — Vallely always figured pitches and putts were the athletic equivalent to the pocket protector.

“When I was a kid, golf was not cool,” said Vallely, now a plus-two handicap golfer (two under par) who is among the field in the championship flight of the 36th annual Costa Mesa City Golf Championship, today and Sunday at the Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club.

Vallely, a 32-year-old Costa Mesa resident, has since won a few titles on the golf course, including 2007 Newport Beach Country Club men’s champion. But the Costa Mesa tournament, whose list of champions include PGA Tour competitors Mark O’Meara and Scott Simpson, is one title he still covets.

“I came close a few years ago [finishing tied for 13th in the 2005 event], but I had a train wreck on the back nine on the last day,” said Vallely, whose golf career highlights also include making the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open in 2004. “So, I’ll be out there grinding, whether I’m playing good or bad. To win would be great. I really need to limit the bogeys and get as many birdies as I can to give myself a chance.”

Vallely said he finally gave golf a chance as his collegiate volleyball career was winding down.

“I had all the [golf] fundamentals, because I was pretty much forced to take lessons as a kid,” he said. “As I was pretty much getting burned out on volleyball [at UCLA], golf just took me. I was grabbed by it and I’ve pretty much been hooked ever since.”

Vallely mixes golf with a passion for surfing and the latter is often easier to squeeze into his busy schedule, which sometimes puts golf on the back burner.

“It’s a lot easier to go out and surf for 45 minutes than it is to play a round of golf,” said Vallely, who is an accomplished longboarder. He won the longboard division at the 2007 Newport Classic and just last month captured the longboard crown at a prestigious contest in Malibu.