SOME GOLF TOURNAMENTS will have a different composition this spring and summer as North Olympic Peninsula courses are making adjustments in the interest of public safety while still allowing area organizations to raise funds.
The previous format of one-day, shotgun start, large-group tournaments will change to “golf weekends” that allow for players and courses to follow social distancing guidelines for golf and play rounds throughout a set period of time.
Peninsula Golf Club in Port Angeles is up first this weekend, playing host to Wilder Golf Weekend, a fundraiser for Wilder Baseball Club, on Saturday and Sunday.
Interested parties can book tee times on Saturday or Sunday (must finish by 4:30 p.m. Sunday) to play in the two-person scramble event. So two two-person foursomes can compete together and still abide by distancing advisories.
The cost is $100 for players with carts, $80 for those walking the course, and includes green fee, range token and competition fees.
A tee gift of Wilder branded golf balls will be provided.
Players will compete for trophies made by Sequim’s Tsunami Bat Company and free rounds of golf at Cedars at Dungeness or Peninsula.
Results will be announced Monday.
To book a time, call the pro shop at 360-457-6501.
Golf for Grads
A Golf For Grads weekend is set for Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim on Friday through Sunday, June 5-7.
Golfers will be playing for fun, with no format in place, while raising funds for Sequim High School Class of 2020 graduation festivities.
The cost is $85 per player and includes green fees, cart, range balls and a gift of logo balls.
Tee times are available all weekend by calling the pro shop at 360-683-6344.
Other events on tap include the 38th annual Best Ball Tournament at Cedars June 12-14; the second annual Captain Joseph’s House Charity Golf Tournament on June 27 and the 2020 Clallam County Amateur Championship at Peninsula, Sunland Golf and Country Club and Cedars from July 10-12.
The Match 2 delivers
Nearly five hours of pure entertainment for millions watching at home and a $20 million donation for four coronavirus-related charities was the final outcome of last Sunday’s matchup of the pairings of Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in intermittent downpours at Woods’ home course, Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.
I’d like another round, please.
The match re-created what an average foursome looks like at your favorite course: Brady served as “the guy who doesn’t normally play this badly” — doubly hilarious when taking trash talk from Charles Barkley.
His eagle from the fairway in the middle of Barkley ripping his game (as well as many others making similar japes on social media) was as well-timed as any Brady-directed game-winning drive. He nailed it, tore his pants, and also hit an eagle putt with a puffy pair of rain pants on while playing alternate shot on the back nine to pull he and Phil within one hole.
Tiger was piping drives and nailing irons, all while holding back his taunts for a perfectly-timed takedown. Manning was a better golfer than I expected and has a reservoir of funny stories to tell. And we got a treat — that same grim Manning face that Seahawks fans saw in Super Bowl 48 came out on a couple of poorly hit shots.
And Mickelson was his confident self, none more so than when he walked course correspondent Justin Thomas through his thought process on a short pitch shot close to the green — and then promptly stuck that pitch within 3 feet. Just watching Mickelson play his short shots was pretty magical. He’s so inventive, I expected most of his chips, pitches and flops to find the pin.
Golf claps to Brady and Manning for putting their egos aside, getting into the spirit of the event and playing alongside Woods and Mickelson on national television.
And it was a ratings smash — an average of 5.8 million viewers watched the event, the most-watched golf telecast in cable TV history.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
