AN ANNOUNCEMENT CAME and went largely unnoticed during the week of the PGA Championship.
It will affect the viewing habits of golf fans all over the country and will begin just down the highway near Tacoma.
A 12-year agreement to move television coverage of United States Golf Association (USGA) events to Fox Sports from NBC/ESPN will start with the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay golf course in University Place.
It includes the men’s and women’s U.S. Open events, the men’s Senior U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur and more.
Bold move here, as Fox has never covered golf before, but it needs live content to help drive its just-launched all-sports ESPN competitor, Fox Sports 1 (available on satellite and Wave Broadband).
Financial terms of the deal weren’t made public, but reports said the fee was a substantial increase over the USGA’s previous deals with NBC and ESPN.
Other golf properties like regular PGA Tour events, the Masters and the British Open were unavailable, so Fox sunk its teeth into our nation’s championship.
It will be tough to adapt to a switch from the NBC broadcast crew, as Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Gary Koch, Peter Jacobson, Roger Maltbie and others have done a tremendous job for years, and golf coverage can be hard for the uninitiated — witness TNT’s yearly struggles covering early portions of the PGA Championship. It always feels a little stilted and less polished than when the event switches over in the afternoon to the CBS crew.
The first name linked to a potential Fox golf crew was Greg “The Shark” Norman, the famed Australian golfer who has never been shy of sharing his opinion on anything and anyone in the game of golf.
Fox is owned and run by fellow Aussies, and Norman did try to set up a World Golf Tour on Fox in the mid 1990s before a PGA ultimatum scared players away, so hopefully this is more truth than rumor.
Scholar-athlete shines
Evangeline (Ev) Grier, a 2010 graduate of Port Angeles High School and a name familiar to high school golf fans on the North Olympic Peninsula, excelled as a scholar and an athlete during the 2013 spring semester at University of Puget Sound.
Grier was awarded her third varsity letter in golf and achieved a 3.59 grade point average during the spring semester.
A member of Puget Sound’s class of 2014, Grier is majoring in Japanese language and culture and is participating in the honors program.
She is the daughter of Kris and Nola Grier of Port Angeles.
Calling all Cougs
The CUB, the Coug, Martin Stadium, Todd Auditorium, “Pullman Water,” and all things Washington State University will be celebrated as SkyRidge Golf Course hosts its 11th annual WSU Cougar Golf Tournament on Sunday.
The four-person scramble event will kick off with a barbecue lunch at noon, followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
Teams can be made up of men and women and lady Cougs are especially invited to come out and play.
SkyRidge will help singles find a team to play on in this Coug-centric event.
There will be gross and net winners based on 15 percent of total team handicap applied to scores.
Cost is $45 per person, with carts an additional $15 per seat.
Entry includes the barbecue lunch, golf, range balls, prizes, hosted beverages on the course and KPs.
A team honey pot is an additional $40.
So come out and celebrate that stunning come-from-behind Apple Cup victory last November and enjoy a round with some Coug brothers and sisters.
When out on the course remember what legendary Cougar announcer Bob Robertson says: “Always be a good sport, be a good sport all ways.”
Phone SkyRidge at 360-683-3673 for more.
Pirates for the day
Sheila Kilmer, publicity chair for Discovery Bay Ladies Golf, sent in a report on a recent outing that also included the Port Townsend Golf Club’s Ladies Club.
“Arrrrgh” was heard throughout the day at Discovery Bay golf course when the two ladies clubs hosted their annual nine-hole tournament.
Using the theme “Pirates Treasure Hunt,” decoration chair Betsi Farrell and her crew turned the clubhouse into a pirate’s den.
Jane Peoples won the “one-eyed” putting contest, with contestants trying to sink a long putt while wearing an eye patch.
“Sink the pirate ship,” a fund raiser for a Chimacum High School female athlete, consisted of contestants trying to chip a ball into a pirate ship at the pond on hole No. 4. Jo Hendrickson was the only pirate able to accomplish this feat.
Wanda Synnestvedt won the prize for most accurate drive, and Lynn Gilbert took the closest to the pin on hole No. 3.
Starla Audette won the prize for best costume.
The game of the day was “Black Ball/Best Ball.” Teams of four rotated a black ball and used that score plus the best ball of the remaining team.
First place went to Norma Lupkes, Donna Willenberg, Kathy Traci and Vivian Chapin with a score or 62.
Second place, with a 63, was Denyse Tonan, Pat Charters, Cynthia Durham and Noreen McCarron.
Third place with a score of 65 was the team of Edna Chicarell, Cynthia Lawson, Terri Green and Barbara Berthiaume.
The day ended with a hearty luncheon.
Kilmer thanked course manager Randy White, Discovery Bay pro Dan Swindler and Stu Warner and his band of jolly men who have worked so hard to get the golf course in such great shape.
She also praised Jack and Alan Hilt who volunteered to help load carts and helped set up the clubhouse, Don Chicarell for running the chipping contest, Lou Deal and Jim Hodgson for serving the grog, and to all the ladies who worked so hard to make it a fun and successful tournament.
Anything that uses grog and pirate voices is just fine with me, and come to think of it, Discovery Bay’s clipper ship logo certainly resembles a pirate ship.
Drive for the Cure set
SunLand Women’s Golf Association (SWGA) and SunLand Lady Niners are joining together to sponsor a “Drive for the Cure” Golf Tournament on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Proceeds from the event will pay for breast cancer detection services at Olympic Medical Center for women in need right here on the North Olympic Peninsula.
The event is open to all women and will begin with a 9 a.m. shotgun start for those playing 18 holes and a nine-hole game at 11 a.m.
Cost is $36 for 18 holes and lunch, $26 for nine holes and lunch, and $12 for lunch only.
In addition, a minimum donation of $20 is suggested for the OMC Foundation.
Magic Putts and Mulligans will be on sale for $1 each.
A delightful Raggedy Ann doll will be raffled off to a lucky winner.
This annual tournament has a reputation for collecting major funds to fight breast cancer. All donations are spent to help local women.
An anonymous SunLand member has once again committed to donate $1 for every $3 raised in this event.
The deadline to sign up is noon on Monday, Sept. 23.
For more information, call SunLand Pro Shop at 360-683-6800 ext. 13 and ask to have Kathy Tiedeman or Judy Kelley return your call.
Senior tour visit
The Champions Tour pays its annual visit to TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge near North Bend this week for the Boeing Classic.
Some notable names have dropped out, including Craig “the Walrus” Stadler, Larry Mize and Nick Price.
Don’t let that scare you away from the event.
Fred Couples, who pulled out last year after injuring his back on the first swing of the tourney, is rested and ready to play back home in Washington.
Other famous names include Colin Montgomrie, Mark O’Mera and Bernhard Langer.
Admission is $40 for adults, half off for age 60 and older, and children 14 and younger are free with a paid adult for the Friday through Sunday event, with parking an additional $10 (shuttle to and from course).
For more information, visit boeingclassic.com.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3527 or pdngolf@gmail.com.