THE TOUGHEST TICKET in golf, if not all of sports, became a little more obtainable Monday.
Just as practice rounds were beginning for this weekend’s Master’s Tournament, Augusta National announced that a limited number of tourney badges would be available for public purchase on its website, www.masters.com, beginning with the 2012 event.
Daily tournament ticket applications must be submitted by June 30, with practice round applications allowed until July 30.
The selection process for each allocation will be random, with applicants being notified by email a few weeks after the deadline.
Good luck with your applications. I hope we get a few folks from the Peninsula down in Georgia.
Spring and fall are the best times to visit the south — June/July trips to Arkansas and North Carolina taught me that — and Augusta is close enough to Savannah, Charleston and Hilton Head to make a nice vacation.
No tickets, work it out
Port Angeles High School golfers Jordan Negus and Terrance Stevenson are lucky.
Normally, I would call two teenagers willing to work during their spring break a little crazy.
Stay home, play some video games like the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour game, golf in between spring showers and laze around the house would be an acceptable way to pass the time for me.
Not for these two.
They’ll get a bunch of lasting memories this spring break.
They are working as housekeepers in the press room at Augusta National for this week’s Masters.
Stevenson’s aunt works at Augusta and passed along the information about applying to work at the event.
The pair will get a chance to meet golf media members, watch player interviews and hopefully get a chance to see some of the action during breaks in their day.
O’Mera in Bellingham
Sequim High School’s No. 1 boys golfer, junior Ryan O’Mera, will compete on the USA’s 2011 Wahlroth Cup team against a team of Canadians in grade 11 this weekend.
The tournament, a Ryder Cup-style match play event started to foster international friendship between the two neighboring nations, will be held at Bellingham’s Sudden Valley Golf and Country Club.
It is sponsored by the The Junior Golf Foundation of British Columbia and Washington Junior Golf Tour.
O’Mera will play a team best-ball round Saturday afternoon, a chapman event Sunday morning and a singles match play round Sunday afternoon.
The lucky linksman will be eating his meals at the course, home of an on-site Bob’s Burgers and Brew restaurant.
Bob’s is a small chain of eateries in the Bellingham and Skagit County area that are absolutely delicious.
O’Mera will probably want to avoid a big meal between his Sunday rounds. But if they are still offering the Sunday brunch, I recommend anyone in his walking party take full advantage.
Waffle bar anyone?
Good luck to O’Mera. Have fun playing for the USA!
SkyRidge schedule
SkyRidge Golf Course will hold a two-person Spring Opener Scramble on Saturday, April 16.
The 9 a.m. shotgun start event is $100 per team.
This includes your golf, range balls, KP’s and lunch after play.
There will be gross and net divisions for the event as well.
DECA tournament set
Port Angeles High School’s DECA marketing club will host its third DECA Golf Scramble fundraiser at Sequim’s SkyRidge Golf Course on Saturday, April 23.
The four-person scramble will begin with a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Fees are $200 for a team or $50 per individual. The fee is $20 for high school students with an ASB card.
The tournament includes 18 holes of golf, range balls, prizes from local businesses and a mulligan table.
Golf carts are also available for $12.
DECA is a student-led organization that allows students to travel to conferences and competitions to demonstrate and expand their knowledge in the fields of marketing, business and entrepreneurship.
Proceeds from the tournament will go toward traveling competition expenses for Port Angeles DECA students.
To play in either the spring opener or the DECA tournament, call SkyRidge at 360-683-3673.
If you can’t play, but would like to donate to DECA, contact Lora Brabant, Port Angeles DECA advisor and marketing teacher, at lbrabant@portangelesschools.org.
Discovery Bay events
Discovery Bay’s men’s club will hold its inaugural Spring Kickoff and Weekly Handicap Competition events at 9 a.m. today.
If you hurry, you might make it!
The men’s counterparts, the Discovery Bay Ladies Club, begin its season Thursday.
Players will meet at 9:30 a.m. with tee times starting at 10 a.m.
The Half Shell Grill at Discovery Bay is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week.
In addition to fresh local seafood and shellfish, the menu will also feature a variety of items catering to the likes of golfers and the public in general.
New PGA pro Mark Wurtz will be conducting spring tune-up clinics beginning the week of April 18 and continuing through early May.
The clinics are divided into both beginner and intermediate level, with men’s and women’s sessions.
Each clinic involves two two-hour sessions, with a maximum of eight participants in each session.
Cost is $40 per person per clinic. Balls and equipment (if needed) are provided by Discovery Bay Golf Club.
Clinics will be held Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The first session will be devoted to developing short game skills, with the second emphasizing the fundamentals of the golf swing.
If you’re interested in anything happening at Discovery Bay, phone the clubhouse at 360-385-0704.
LPGA leap painful
I’ve heard of adding insult to injury, but how about adding injury to victory?
Carol Lewis, mother of LPGA Kraft-Nabisco champion Stacy Lewis, broke a fibula bone after she saw her daughter take home the trophy last Sunday.
She was hurt while taking part in the major winner’s customary dip into Poppie’s Pond.
Winners of the Kraft-Nabisco (formerly known as the Dinah Shore) have been taking the plunge with various combinations of caddies, family members, friends and spouses for years.
The elder Lewis was taken to a local medical center, proud of her daughter’s first LPGA Tour title, and likely a little flustered about her “high dive”
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. He can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.