A PROUD COUPLE of days for Germany, with Martin Kaymer coasting to his second major in style with an eight-shot win at the U.S. Open and its national soccer team downing petulant Portugal 4-0 to open the World Cup.
You could even toss in the most unlikely of unlikelies, a game-winning goal scored for the German-coached U.S. soccer team by German-born defender John Brooks in a 2-1 win over those feared Ghanaians.
A stellar 48 hours of sports for any country, by any stretch, really.
Kaymer’s dominant play lasted through the entire tournament — opening with consecutive rounds of 65 certainly helped provide a nice cushion, but he more than made up for any rough patches in his play with stellar shotmaking.
Everybody struggled on Saturday, Kaymer included, with four bogeys in his first 13 holes. But he made a brilliant bogey at the fourth after taking an unplayable lie, and an eagle at the par-5 fifth helped offset the mistakes.
It was fantastic play, reminiscent at times of Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000 or Rory McIlroy at Congressional in 2011.
But it wasn’t beloved like those performances.
No, the gallery’s lacking reception for Kaymer, and whole-hearted embrace of American Rickie Fowler, led me to think of the Bernhard Langer-Freddie Couples duel in the 2010 U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish.
Back in 2010, Langer, Germany’s machine-like two-time Masters winner, had to deal with a boisterous Ryder Cup-like gallery loudly rooting for a rally and win by Couples, the hometown hero.
Fowler, who earned a great deal of respect last week for his plus-fours pants and argyle-socks tribute to the 15th anniversary of Payne Stewart’s Pinehurst U.S. Open victory, was the crowd’s favorite at this Open.
But Kaymer, who reached No. 1 shortly after he won the PGA Championship at age 25 in 2010 only to become dissatisfied and eventually rebuild his game, was not to be stopped.
In fact his play reminded me very much of Langer, who as it turns out sent text messages and even spoke with Kaymer on Sunday morning.
“They had a chat on Sunday morning,” Kaymer’s caddie Craig Connelly told The Guardian. “Bernhard said to Martin: ‘Let’s get closer to winning that German grand slam.’
“He has done that.”
And Kaymer will be a worthy defending champion next June on the outskirts of Tacoma.
Next up on the U.S. Open tee, Pierce County’s very own Chambers Bay in University Place.
Stars and Stripes tourney
SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim will present a Stars and Stripes Golf Tournament, a two-person 27-hole event with three separate formats, on Saturday, July 5.
A 10 a.m. shotgun start will start things off.
Players will open with a better-ball nine from the green tees, switch to a scramble format from the green tees for the back nine (playing SkyRidge’s 18th hole this time through) and finish with nine holes of aggregate play from the silver tees.
Only 28 two-person teams are available.
Green fees are $40 per person, $80 per team, and the price includes golf, range balls, food and $5 in competition money.
An optional honey pot is $20 per player and carts are $15 per seat.
Phone SkyRidge at 360-683-3673 or stop in to sign up.
Support Jefferson County sheriffs
The annual Jefferson County Sheriff’s Golf Tournament is planned for Port Ludlow Golf Club on Saturday, July 19.
The four-person scramble has gross and net divisions and will tee off in a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
Entry fees are $500 per four-person team and includes 18 holes on the Tide and Timber nines, use of cart, competition prizes, unlimited use of the practice facility and a barbecue dinner with all of the fixins after play.
Proceeds from the tourney will support the general scholarship funds for the three Jefferson County high schools, Port Townsend, Chimacum and Quilcene.
Sign ups are due July 13.
To sign up, or for more information, phone Port Ludlow at 360-437-0272.
Save the date
The second annual Friends of Olympic Christian School Charity Golf Tournament is set for Saturday, July 19, at Cedars at Dungeness.
A total of $40,000 in prizes, including shots at two big hole-in-one prizes, are available.
The cost is $90, which includes green fees, cart, range balls and lunch.
A scramble format with a 9 a.m. shotgun start is planned.
There will be two divisions, a low gross and an OCS Eagle flight.
Register online at www.olympicchristian.org, or phone 360-808-7355.
Port Townsend golf
Port Townsend Golf Club will celebrate the summer solstice Saturday with nine holes of golf for $9.17, or play as many holes as you wish for $16.51 plus tax.
The course will host a junior golf camp from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Thursday, June 24-26.
Head pro/general manager Gabriel Tonan will lead players through all aspects of the game.
The cost is $50, with students getting a small lunch each day.
Port Townsend’s next tournament, an individual three-club open, is planned for Saturday, July 5.
Each player will select three clubs and play 18 holes of golf, with just those three clubs.
I suggest a 3-wood, a 7-iron and a wedge, provided you can “putt” by chipping with your 7 iron.
Be careful on the greens, everybody.
Cost is $25 per player, plus $10 for nonmembers.
This event will have an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Phone Port Townsend at 360-385-4547 or stop by to sign up.
Nine-hole skins games are available all day Thursdays and Saturdays for $10, plus reduced green fees for nonmembers.
Alumni tourney
Port Townsend hosted the annual Port Townsend High School Alumni Association Golf Tournament last Saturday.
Tonan passed along a big thank you to the nearly 50 players who came out and raised funds for scholarships for recent and future Port Townsend graduates.
“We had a wonderful group of women from the class of ’75, some young men still in high school, a 2014 PTHS graduate, Chimacum alumni and as usual PTGC members that support all the tournaments we put on,” Tonan said.
The team of Jim Fultz, Woody Woodley, Roy Sutherland and Mitch Black went low with a 59 to take the gross title.
They edged out the Port Townsend High School golf team trio of Zack Glover, Jack Bishop, Patrick Morton and former Port Angeles High School golfer Emily Cook, who shot 61.
On the net side, Chris MacDonald, Chris Bainbridge, Paul Bainbridge and Bob Bainbridge won with a 51.4.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or pdngolf@gmail.com.