TOURNAMENTS ABOUND IN the coming weeks as courses hope to wring some sunshine out of Mother Nature before cooler temps and the inevitable drip-drip-drip of a North Olympic Peninsula fall sets in.
This Saturday, two golf events are occurring in the Dungeness Valley.
SkyRidge Golf Course hosts its Family Scramble with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
The tournament format allows for any two family members to partner up and compete for a title.
Entry fee for the event is $90 per team and includes range balls, KP’s and lunch.
For more information on the Family Scramble, contact the SkyRidge pro shop at 360-683-3673.
GolfToberFest
Down the road at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course, GolfToberFest looks to bring some Bavarian flair and festivities to the Peninsula.
The five-person scramble-format is set up for players of all handicaps and tees off with a 10:30 a.m. shotgun start.
The $70 entree fee provides 18 holes of golf, range balls, use of carts with GPS, cigars, beer stations on the course at three-hole intervals and a tasty German-style lunch.
GolfToberFest also has a KP contest and $1,000 in prizes (based on a 100-person field).
The tournament will have two divisions. If players choose to walk the course, the fee is $60.
All those interested in pretzels, schnitzels, brews and birdies can contact the Cedars pro shop at 360-683-6344.
More Cedars events
A head’s up, Cedars will also host the Olympic Pro-Pro on Oct. 28-29 and the Olympic Pro-Am Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
I’ll have more information on both those tournaments in next week’s column.
Night Golf
In Jefferson County, Discovery Bay Golf Club hosts a nine-hole Night Golf Scramble this Saturday at 7 p.m.
There is an optional dinner beforehand at 6 p.m. at the Putters Bay Café at the course as well.
Fees for the Night Golf event are $25 for non-members with a cart, $20 without the cart and $15 for members with a cart and $10 without.
Seniors get a price break as well: $22 with cart and $17 without.
Spots are limited for this one, so call Discovery Bay at 360-385-0704 as soon as you can.
PT Golf Club
Port Townsend Golf Club has two events on the horizon.
• The 12th annual Halloween Scramble is set for Oct. 24.
The event is $30 for club members and $40 for the public. There will be lunch and KP’s and long putt prizes by division.
The format of the scramble is to-be-determined and is based on the amount of players expressing interest.
• The Hilltop Open will be Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Hilltop Open, sponsored by Hilltop Tavern owners Pat and Judy Lundgren, is considered by many of Jefferson County’s golfing populace as “the last major of the year” according to Port Townsend’s PGA Director of Golf Mike Early.
Cost is $40 per player with a $10 fee for non-members.
Tournament results and awards and a lasagna feed courtesy of Mrs. Lundgren follow the golf up at The Hilltop Tavern.
Early told me that in the ten-year history of the Hilltop event, it has only rained one time.
Let’s hope for some sunshine out there.
Local results
• Skyridge held its Player of the Year Tournament this past Saturday.
The course holds a Players Day competition each month with the low gross and net winners qualifying to participate in the Player of the Year Tournament.
Al Quattrocchi earned top honors as gross player of the year after carding a 73, five shots ahead of Jac Osborn’s 78.
Brian Cays claimed the net division with a 67, three shots clear of Bruce Beane (70).
• The Peninsula Golf Club played Medal Play on Oct. 7.
Pamela Fisher finished first in the 18-hole group with a 65, two shots better than Cindy Schlaffman’s 67.
Kitty Byrne claimed the win in the nine-hole event with a 35.
After their round the Peninsula ladies held their annual Awards Luncheon and elected officers for 2010.
A full list of those officers and awards can be found on Page B2 of today’s PDN.
• Last Thursday the ladies out at Discovery Bay Golf Club played “Hate ‘Em”.
The ladies played the full 18 holes but for scoring purposes were allowed to toss out a least-favorite par-3, par-4 and par-5 and use a score of par for those holes.
It’s an interesting way to turn the tables on some of those trouble spots on the golf course, provided you don’t find yourself hating the other holes by the time you complete your round.
Vicki Young was the big winner with a net 73.5. Irene Helander was second with a 77 and Barb Aldrich finished third with a 79.
• The Port Ludlow Golf Club 18-hole Ladies Golf Group played an “Eclectic” last Tuesday.
The ladies played the original Tide Course twice and recorded the best score from each hole.
Delee Panasuk, Linda Aho and Caryl Oros tied for first flight honors with a 32.
Suzy Lee claimed the Second Flight with a 30.5 and Dion Watson and Grace Allen tied for third flight honors with a 31.5.
• The Lady Niners finished up their season last Thursday with a Throw Out Two Holes.
Sandy MacDonald won the First Flight with a 26, while Kathy Snider, Loretta Close, Cynthia Durham and Joanne Harrington all tied for top honors in the second flight with a 23.
After the round the ladies headed into Port Townsend to celebrate their season with a fine meal at the Belmont.
• Another notable score to pass along is Paul Ryan’s 76 at the age of 76 at Cedars.
This is the ninth time that Mr. Ryan has achieved the feat and the third time I have made mention of it in a column.
Maybe I’m good luck for him, or maybe he is just a really solid golfer.
I’ll let you decide.
Great showing
A hearty congratulations to the U.S. President’s Cup team for their exceptional win during last weekend’s President’s Cup.
Tiger Woods proved why he is the world’s greatest golfer by going 5-0, a very rare feat during a match play competition.
Woods will have another event to compete in for his country if he is still playing in 2016 (and with his competitive streak I am pretty certain he will be).
The International Olympic Committee came through and approved a 72-hole stroke play format tournament for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His columns appear every Wednesday. He can be reached at pdngolf@gmail.com or 360-504-0181.