NO STRANGER TO having championship golf on-site, having hosted the Washington State Women’s Amateur most recently in 2016, Sunland Golf &Country Club will again host tournament golf today through Friday.
The 31st Washington State Senior Men’s and the 10th Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championships are to be held concurrently at Sunland. Both championships are 54 holes of stroke play and are conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA).
Super Senior Championship rounds will begin at 8 a.m. today, and there are North Olympic Peninsula golfers in the field.
Port Ludlow Golf Club General Manager Shelton Washburn will tee it up at 8:30 a.m. along with Port Ludlow’s John Germain.
Washburn has finished second in this event twice, in 2010 at Mill Creek Country Club and in 2014 at Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim.
Sunland’s own Jay Tomlin (9:10 a.m.) and Jac Osborn (9:20 a.m.) are in the mix as well in the Super Senior and Port Ludlow’s John Harter rounds out the Peninsula contingent at 9:40 a.m.
In the Senior Amateur, four-time champ Tom Brandes is part of a threesome with last year’s winner Brad Karns of Vancouver, Wash.
Area players include Sequim’s Steve Gish (11:40 a.m.), Port Ludlow’s Jerry Brady (12:30 p.m.) and Michael Raymond (12:40 p.m.) and Port Angeles’ Bobby Kelly (12:40 p.m.).
Admission to the tournament is free and the event is open to the public.
Cedars tourneys
In addition to this weekend’s Birdies for Bean Dip Golf Tournament, Cedars at Dungeness has a couple of other tournaments on tap.
The course’s fifth annual GO BIG Golf Tournament is planned for a 10 a.m. shotgun start Saturday, Oct. 7.
The event celebrates girth with enlarged 8-inch cups on the greens, footlong hot dogs, 22 ounce beers, sodas and waters.
This “one-man scramble” event is about having fun, and there are Callaway, gross and net divisions for all golfers of all ability levels.
Cost is $50 per person for the public, $27 for members/employees.
The price includes green fees, competition, range balls and food.
Coming up Saturday, Oct. 21, the course will host its annual Nightoberfest: Night Golf Tournament.
The two-person, nine-hole night golf scramble is $65 for the public ($50 members/employees) and includes green fees, a pre-event keg party, awards and glow balls/glow sticks.
Awards will be given to the most outrageous outfits.
Players should bring their own clubs, flash lights or lanterns to help brighten up play.
The event is open to the first 30 teams.
A keg party starts things off at 5 p.m. in the Legends Room, with a 6:30 p.m. shotgun start and an awards party at 8:30 p.m.
For more information on these events, phone 360-683-6344.
Birdies for Bean Dip, a benefit for Brett Allen, is Saturday and has a 9 a.m. shotgun start for those playing 18 holes, and an 11:30 a.m. start for golfers playing nine holes.
Bean Dip, aka Allen, is a golf-loving, outsized personality who worked at the course as a cook until he was injured in an accident in May.
Entry fees are $100 for 18 holes ($75 for members/employees) or $60 for nine holes ($35 for members/employees).
Players will receive range balls, a cart seat, two drink tickets, lunch, green fees and a custom Bean Dip shirt.
The deadline to enter is Friday.
Aerification special
Port Ludlow underwent aerification this week and has a $29 cart special running through Oct. 8 for players who don’t mind a sandy, grooved putting surface.
It’s all for the health of the greens, however, and the course will be better from the procedure.
President’s Cup
There’s not as much drama as the Ryder Cup, the players are probably worn out from wrapping up the 2017 PGA Tour season and the course, Liberty National, was built on a Superfund site, having been an oil terminal infiltrated with petroleum, lead and toxic waste in the site’s former life.
Interested now? Well, you are a golf die hard. The course does have a few things going for it, most notably some beautiful views of nearby Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.