GOLF FANS SEEKING an up close and personal view of professional golfers have two Pacific Northwest-based opportunities in the following weeks.
Starting Friday, Champions Tour players tee off in the 10th annual Boeing Classic, a 54-hole tournament held at TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge, 25 miles east of Seattle.
Next week, LPGA golfers make their annual trip to Portland for the Portland Classic, a 72-hole event at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Each tournament provides a solid value for attendees. Daily tickets are $20 in advance for the Boeing Classic and just $10 for the Portland Classic, while weekly tickets are $60 and $25, respectively.
A chance to spend a day watching professional golfers for less than the price of most rounds of golf is a steal, really.
I’m on vacation this week and my big plan involves attending Friday’s opening round at the Boeing Classic with a few friends.
Golfers set to appear at the Boeing Classic include Seattle hometown hero Fred Couples, the model of efficiency that is Bernhard Langer, former British Open champion and Dockers pants pitchman Tom Lehman, Craig “The Walrus” Stadler and Mark O’Meara.
There’s no shotgun start for the Boeing Classic. Instead I’m looking forward to the Boeing jet flyover Friday morning.
A Boeing jet (likely a 787 Dreamliner) will pass over the course and clubhouse at an altitude of 1,000 feet.
SunLand save the date
The SunLand Women’s Golf Association and the SunLand Lady Niners would like all golfers to save Thursday, Sept. 25.
The two SunLand golf groups are sponsoring a Drive for the Cure golf tournament to benefit the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
All donations to this event are directed to pay for breast cancer detection for women in need here on the North Olympic Peninsula.
All men are welcome to play, enjoy lunch and donate to the cause.
A minimum donation of $20 is suggested for the OMC Foundation.
Detailed information regarding the tournament’s cost will be available soon.
Organizers are putting the final touches on the event, including “super” raffle prizes.
Prices and conditions will be the same for men and women. Last year there were six men who participated and organizers are seeking to boost that number.
Magic putts and mulligans will be on sale for $1 each.
For more information, phone the SunLand Pro Shop at 360-683-6800 and ask to have Penny Dickin return your call.
Cedars ladies
Bonney Benson of the 18-hole Ladies Golf Group at the Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim recently checked in with an update.
The group just wrapped their annual President’s Cup Match Play competition with member Marlene Erickson besting all comers to wind up a winner. Congratulations, Marlene.
Group members also hosted members of Discovery Bay Golf Course near Port Townsend for a home-and-away event.
Benson said this event was in the works for a year and the groups were able to get together to play thanks to the efforts of Wanda Synnestvedt and Pat Conway. Good going, ladies.
The ladies have now started their club championship and recently welcomed Jane Peoples, who lives near Port Townsend.
Cedars ladies will host their annual Days of Whine and Roses Invitational tournament on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 15-16.
This well-attended 27-hole event attracts ladies players from North Olympic Peninsula clubs as well as the Puget Sound area and up north.
Ladies who are interested in playing can phone Benson at 360-681-7713 or Conway at 360-683-8980.
For any general information on the ladies golf group, you can also phone Conway.
Compiling club champs
I’m in the process of compiling a list of the men’s and women’s club champions from each North Olympic Peninsula course for a future article.
If your course hasn’t sent that information along (or held its championships), please let me know.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or pdngolf@gmail.com.