I BORED SOME ladies attending my friend’s Super Bowl party about half an hour before kickoff on Sunday.
While not particularly breaking news, considering I bore women all the time and I’ve gotten pretty used to it, this boredom did stem from a golf-related decision.
Having never been a fan of the hype and run-up of the big game’s lengthy pregame show, I decided to switch the channel over to watch the final holes of the PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Big mistake.
Apparently, listening to James Brown, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe, Dan Marino, Charlie Casserley, Boomer Esiason, Raggedy Anne and Andy and whomever else they could shoehorn onto the crowded pregame show set was more important than “boring golf.”
I relented without argument, mainly because I didn’t want to be “that guy” so early in the party, but I did make note of The Masters commercial spots and of course, the usual Masters announcer Jim Nantz calling the game.
I’ll get back to the Masters and the 2010 PGA Tour later on in this column.
Peninsula Cup plans
The “golf” ball is rolling on plans for the 2010 Peninsula Cup golf tournament.
The second annual Peninsula Cup will be held on Saturday, May 22 at SunLand Golf & Country Club in Sequim.
It looks like the field of players is expanding along with the total number of North Olympic Peninsula golf clubs.
Sixteen-person teams are being considered by the golf pros at our area clubs, which would make a 96-player field if six teams played, or 112 if all seven clubs participated.
I have to remain an impartial witness for the event but I encourage everyone who likes playing team golf and enjoys representing their home club to participate.
Currently, it looks like the 18-hole event will cost $45 per player with each golfer receiving two tee prizes and a huge pasta buffet feed after the round.
Power carts will cost extra.
Team scores would consist of the three low gross scores and the 10 lowest net scores, leaving three scores that would be thrown out.
Winners of the event would all get hats as well as having the Peninsula Cup displayed in the winning course’s clubhouse.
Each course has plenty of time to round up 16 of its finest players and participate in this fine event.
If you’re interested in playing, get in touch with your local pro or e-mail Ray DeJong at dejong2263@aol.com.
Arctic Open
The two-day 27th annual Arctic Open best-ball tournament presented by Marine View Beverage will be held at Port Townsend Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday.
The 36-hole, two-person tournament has an entry fee of $200.
For more information on any event at Port Townsend, call the pro shop at 360-385-4547 or visit porttownsendgolf.com for more information.
2010 PGA Tour season
Seeing those Masters spots and hearing Jim Nantz on Sunday did lead me to start thinking about the 2010 PGA Tour.
Three of the four major tournaments will be held at some of the most famous golf courses in the world.
The Masters will take place as always at Augusta National Golf Club.
The U.S. Open will occur in June at Pebble Beach, and The British Open will occur at the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Those three courses are burned into my brain from countless hours of “Mean 18” computer golf in the late 1980s.
Those tournaments are always special but I think it might mean just a bit more for the players to hoist the Claret Jug at St. Andrews or the U.S. Open Trophy at Pebble Beach.
The fourth major, the PGA Championship, takes place at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, the host of the 2004 PGA Championship.
It’s another links course, this one set on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Other big tournaments are the tour’s unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass and the World Golf Championships Match Play Championships in two weeks at Marana, Ariz., near Tucson.
An interesting new addition is The Greenbrier Classic held in White Sulphur Spring, West Virginia.
The course holds a significant spot in American golf history because its original nine holes were designed by Alexander H. Findlay, considered by many to be the originator of golf in America.
Golf legend Sam Snead held the position of the resort’s emeritus pro for a time. Now Tom Watson holds that title.
The course was also the site of the first Ryder Cup after the format switched to the United States vs. Europe in 1979.
This year I’ll be watching and rooting for Rory “Tin Cup” Mcllroy.
That’s the nickname I’ve given him in hopes it will catch on with broadcasters.
The first time I heard his name I thought they had said Roy McAvoy, i.e. “Tin Cup” from the 1996 movie of the same name.
As a fan of that film and that nickname, he rocketed to my top-five favorite players even after I realized my mistake.
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Wednesdays. He can be reached at 360-417-3527 or pdngolf@gmail.com.