AN ANNUAL SPORTING tradition since 1939, Peninsula Golf Club recently hosted members of Victoria’s Gorge Vale Golf Club in an international interclub competition to decide the Hurdle Trophy.
The 80th edition of the event received recognition from both the British Columbia Golf Association and the Washington State Golf Association.
Plaques were presented to Peninsula Golf Club member Jeff Colvin and his Gorge Vale counterpart Andrew Thompson for all the work they have put in over the years to keep the friendly match on each club’s competition calendar.
“Jeff and Andrew put in hours and hours of work to make this event truly special,” Peninsula head pro Chad Wagner said. “They are the backbone to this interclub competition.”
The plaques read: “The Gorge Vale & Peninsula Golf Clubs have proven themselves dedicated to the ideals promoted by the British Columbia Golf Association and the Washington State Golf Association. They support amiable international competition and fervent passion for the game of golf through their unremitting dedication to pursuing a most amiable Home and Home Interclub Competition across the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Inaugurated in 1939, the contest for the Hurdle Trophy has taken place without interruption throughout the war years of 1942-45, to the present date.
“BCGA & WSGA extend their sincere congratulations and appreciation to both The Gorge Vale & Peninsula Golf Clubs for their exemplary support of the game and the aforementioned associations through 80 continuous years of renowned International Interclub Competition.”
Wagner said Gorge Vale claimed the Hurdle Trophy for the second straight year.
Congrats to both clubs for keeping the the cross-water contest an annual event.
Clallam Amateur
Many familiar names competed in the 72-player strong Clallam County Amateur Tournament conducted at Peninsula Golf Club, Sunland Golf and Country Club and The Cedars at Dungeness over the weekend.
Sequim’s Eric Bower put together a sensational round of 3-under-par 69 to charge to the top of the leaderboard and claim the gross championship.
Former Amateur champion Jack Shea, a Sequim High School standout who twice won the All-Peninsula Boys Golf MVP with the Wolves, shot steady rounds of 76, 75, 75 to finish third.
Shea’s sister Sarah, a former All-Peninsula Girls Golf MVP and current member of the Western Washington University women’s golf team, was back to play in the event, along with former Wolves teammate and George Fox University golfer Alex McMenamin.
Former Port Angeles High School and Pacific Lutheran golfer Emily Cook led the tournament after a great first round score of 1-over-par 73 at Peninsula.
It also was great to see such a strong turnout of women’s golfers for the event.
A round of golf claps for all the players and thanks to The Cedars at Dungeness, Peninsula Golf Club and Sunland for hosting the tournament.
Junior Golf League
The Cedars at Dungeness 17U Junior Golf League, is being headed up by Cedars’ PGA Director of Golf Bill Shea.
The program is open to the first 20 players ages 14-17 to register.
It will include eight two-hour practice sessions/lessons with Shea and a three-day junior championship tournament at the end of August. The junior championship will be similar in scope to this weekend’s Clallam County Amateur Championship.
The cost for the junior program is $150.
To sign up or for more information, call Cedars at 360-683-6344.
Clallam Links
SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim will hold its annual Clallam Links Open, an individual, medal-play format event, following conclusion of The [British] Open’s final round at Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush on Sunday.
A lunch of mulligan stew and all the fixin’s will be held at noon with players going off holes No. 1 and 7 during a mini-shotgun start at 1 p.m.
Play will be conducted across three divisions: Men’s Amateur 0-14 (handicap) from the black tees; Men’s Amateur (15 and Up) from the green tees and Women’s Amateur from the silver tees.
Players can form their own foursomes or SkyRidge will place you on a team.
The tournament is open to the first 40 players who have registered and paid their entry fee.
The cost is $60 per player ($25 for golf, $25 for honey pot, $10 for lunch and prizes) and includes 18 holes of golf, range balls, KPs, long putt contest and lunch.
Power cart seats are an additional $15.
A full amateur field will yield a $1,000 total payout with 30 percent of the field getting paid in each division.
Get in on the game by calling SkyRidge at 360-683-3673.
British Open
If you enjoy the history behind a major golf championship venue, Golf Magazine’s Alan Shipnuck has dug deep into the British Open’s first return to Royal Portrush since 1951.
A civil war called The Troubles divided Ireland for much of the interim and Catholic and Protestant unrest remains just below the surface.
The piece covers how the religion of golf may finally broker a national unity that millions have been awaiting.
Former U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell is a native of Portrush, the small town nearest the course. He played his college golf at Alabama-Birmingham and learned about our nation’s sense of patriotism during his time in the South.
“I was overwhelmed by the patriotism,” McDowell said. “You go to a football or basketball game and it’s in the air, it’s part of the ritual. Even now having lived in the States for a long time, I still can get overwhelmed by it. I’ve never been patriotic because it’s very hard to be proud of where I grew up.”
McDowell had a valid reason.
“The Troubles simmered for three decades, pitting neighbor against neighbor and leading to more than 50,000 casualties and 3,500 deaths, often from indiscriminate bombings and deeply personal doorstep shootings,” Shipnuck wrote. “This was the Northern Ireland of McDowell’s youth.”
The success of McDowell and fellow Northern Irishmen major winners Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke put a good kind of target on Northern Ireland and rumors of the Open’s return began to circulate.
The story, available at tinyurl.com/PDN-Portrush, delves into the decision to host the tournament at Royal Portrush, including the logistical challenge of hosting the Open at basically a new venue, changes made to the course and how the town of Portrush rallied to help the cause.
