OFTEN IGNORED BY golf’s decision makers, the Pacific Northwest stood tall in 2015, playing host to the 115th U.S. Open, the first national championship held in the region.
When the Super Bowl of golf comes to town, other stories tend to seem small in comparison.
But the past year yielded plenty of major golf stories on the North Olympic Peninsula and worldwide.
Black, Mitro bow out
March saw the beginning of the end for two long-time North Olympic Peninsula high school golf coaches.
Port Angeles’ Mark Mitrovich and Chimacum’s Mitch Black oversaw the first practices of their final seasons in charge of their respective programs.
The season was Black’s 39th as coach of the Cowboys and Mitrovich’s 30th season guiding the Roughriders.
The pair left a legacy of success at each school and generations of vastly improved golfers and citizens.
My story on their departures is found at tinyurl.com/PDN-coachingduo.
Spieth is masterful
Jordan Spieth was fitted for the first of what could be many green jackets after his coming-out party at the 2015 Masters.
Spieth led after each round, recorded the most birdies in Masters history with 26 and tied Tiger Woods’ scoring record of 18-under-par for the tournament.
Flat-out domination by the Texas native.
PT hoists the cup
Port Townsend Golf Club raised its first Peninsula Cup with an eight-stroke victory over host course, the Cedars at Dungeness, in early May.
A team of crafty veterans and current and former Port Townsend High School golfers earned the Port Townsend course’s first win at the seventh annual Peninsula-wide competition.
Team members are Terry Khile, Doug Collins, Scott Ramey, Austin Khile, Ken Radon, Ronnie Harrell, Keegan Khile, Zack Glover, Chris Holloway, Woody Woodley, Jim Fultz and Mitch Black.
Area pros try for Open
Sequim golf pros Bill Shea of Cedars at Dungeness and Tyler Sweet of SunLand Golf & Country Club fell short in their attempt to beat the odds and qualify for June’s U.S. Open.
Prep golfers fare well
Shea’s son Jack claimed the Olympic League 2A Division title later in the month, shooting a 3-under-par 69 on his home course to qualify for the state tournament.
Sequim’s Alex McMenamin won the Olympic 2A girls title with a 6-over-par 78.
Chimacum’s Chris Bainbridge shot the round of his life, breaking 80 for the first time and shooting an even-par 72 to win the Olympic 1A boys crown.
The Cowboys went on to claim the first district title of Black’s coaching career and a fourth-place finish at the 1A state tournament.
Shea claimed the area’s best individual boys finish, 10th, at the 2A state tournament.
Later in the year, Shea, a senior at Sequim, signed a letter of intent to play golf at Montana State University-Billings, an NCAA Division II school.
McMenamin finished ninth to help the Wolves’ girls team take seventh place.
The Port Angeles boys capped Mitrovich’s coaching career by finishing 10th at state.
Mitrovich was especially proud of his final group of seniors, Alex Atwell, Alex Brown, Austin Peterson and Mason Jackson, who rolled through Olympic League competition throughout their careers.
My story on their success is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-PAFoursome.
GolfBoards and FootGolf
Cedars and Dungeness brought more flavor to its property with the addition of two GolfBoards and FootGolf.
GolfBoards allow golfers to surf the earth and ride around the course in a manner similar to snowboarding, surfing or skateboarding.
FootGolf is scored the same as golf, with players kicking a soccer ball from the tee to an oversized hole in the fairway somewhere short of the golf green, and encountering the same hazards as on the golf course.
My story on the new additions can be found at tinyurl.com/PDN-NewGolf.
U.S. Open successful
The weather cooperated, Chambers Bay offered a steep challenge to player and spectator alike, and Spieth sealed his status as golf’s Player of the Year with his second consecutive major win.
Spieth won by showing some grit, following up a double-bogey on the train track-adjacent penultimate hole with a needed birdie on the final hole to win by one stroke.
Yes, Dustin Johnson choked the title away with a 3-putt finish on 18.
I was disappointed Johnson’s potential tying putt didn’t find the hole because an 18-hole Monday playoff would have been fun to watch.
But the best player won, and Chambers Bay will be remembered as a historic U.S. Open, even if the course looked a little brown.
North Olympic Peninsula volunteers did their part, marshaling holes, staffing the merchandise pavilion and, in the case of Port Ludlow Director of Golf Vito DeSantis, announcing golfers as they played practice rounds on the vast layout.
My story on DeSantis’ special couple of days can be read at tinyurl.com/PDN-ChambersStarter.
Cedars hosts Amateur
Washington State University golfer Alivia Brown won the Washington State Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur at Cedars at Dungeness in late June.
Brown shot three straight rounds of 1-under-par 71 to earn the title.
Sequim’s McMenamin finished in a tie for 30th.
No Rory, still a story
A pre-British Open kickabout with friends ended up injuring Rory McIlroy’s ankle, knocking the defending champ out of the event, but the tournament still provided ample drama.
Bad weather at St. Andrews forced play to be suspended twice, and the tournament finished on a Monday for the first time since 1988.
Spieth was aiming for his third straight major victory and nearly earned it, tying for the lead on the 16th hole before a bogey on the 17th and a close miss on the 18th knocked him out of a three-man playoff eventually won by Zach Johnson.
Just his day
Australian Jason Day shook off his battles with vertigo to claim his first major title, the PGA Championship, in August with a three-stroke win over Spieth at Whistling Straits.
Day ended up with five wins on the season, tying Spieth.
Fall season events
Later in the golf season, Port Townsend Golf Club made moves on a stubborn moss issue on its second hole.
My article on the changes to the course can be read at tinyurl.com/PDNMoss.
After coming close in recent years, Cedars at Dungeness broke through to win first place in the golf course category of KING-5 TV’s “Best Everything of Western Washington” online contest for 2015.
Cedars’ plentiful dining options and course scenery and conditions were repeatedly praised in comments for the online contest.
Play golf, do good
North Olympic Peninsula courses did their part for numerous charities and community organizations in 2015.
Thousands of dollars were raised for breast cancer detection, equipment for Olympic Medical Center, scholarships for deserving high school seniors, those with special needs, Wilder Baseball Club, scholarships for Peninsula College student-athletes and many other causes.
Here’s to a successful 2016.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3525, ext. 5152, or pdngolf@gmail.com.
