WHO KNEW THAT one year ago Friday the world of professional golf would have been turned on its head?
And that the cause would have been the discovery of marital indiscretions and a subsequent auto accident in a gated Florida subdivision involving the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer?
My grandmother was an adult life-long viewer of “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light,” so I watched a few episodes growing up and became familiar with some standard soap opera cliches.
This one was hard to top, even by Hollywood standards.
After a winless 2010 season, Tiger Woods now sits second in the World Golf Rankings, his record streak of 281 straight weeks atop the leader board ending in October when he was passed by Lee Westwood.
He may even drop to No. 3 if PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer finishes in fourth or better in Dubai over the weekend.
Westwood and Kaymer also recently announced their decisions to play full-time on the European Tour, another blow to the health of professional golf in the United States.
Hopefully, the mega ocean-going cruise liner that is the S.S. Tiger Woods rights itself completely in 2011.
Turkey Day tourney
I wrote last week that golfers could get a workout and burn off Thanksgiving meal calories at SkyRidge Golf Course’s first Post-Turkey Day Two-Person Scramble.
Players will probably still have that chance but SkyRidge organizers are being flexible.
If the big drip (rain) happens and things are ready to go by Friday, then the tourney will tee off at its scheduled 8:30 a.m. start time.
If things need another day, the tournament will switch to a Saturday start.
SkyRidge co-owner Jeff Pedersen said that the blowing winds from Monday’s mini-blizzard left many of the course’s greens bereft of the white stuff.
The details for the tournament remain the same.
The cost is $60 per team with an optional honey pot.
Power carts will be $10 a seat.
The tourney includes gross and net prizes, lunch after play, a T-shirt and KP’s.
Team handicap will be 30 percent of combined individual handicap.
There also will be an optional team horse race after the tournament. Call or stop by the course to sign up.
For the most up-to-date information, stop by the course at 7015 Old Olympic Highway in Sequim or phone the clubhouse at 360-683-3673.
Disco Bay golf
Coming up in December, Discovery Bay Golf Club in Port Townsend will offer unlimited golf all month for $75.
The course restaurant is now closed for the winter, but the banquet room and kitchen is available for rental by groups ranging in size from four to 120 people.
For more information on anything Discovery Bay Golf Club-related, phone 360-385-0704.
PT Golf Club
Port Townsend Golf Club has something fresh on tap that will run until spring.
First on tap is its Winter Eclectic, an individual four-month long best ball tournament.
Participants must play nine holes at a time, and like other tournaments have a playing partner to sign and attest each score card submitted.
Each player’s total score is drawn from the best hole-by-hole score for the four-month gross and net results.
Play gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 27 and will run until March 31.
The second new tournament is a two-person scramble format match play.
Players earn points for playing the front, back and all 18 holes.
Port Townsend’s Hidden Rock Cafe has a couple of specials going on through November.
Customers who eat at the course this month will receive a small bucket of range balls.
Those who play a round of golf and find a small rock with “Hidden Rock” painted on it laying around the course will receive a free breakfast or lunch from the new eatery.
Port Townsend’s next big tourney is the Toys For Tots Scramble on Saturday, Dec. 18.
They will also hold a holiday open house but I don’t have a date for that event quite yet.
I’ll have more details in the coming weeks.
For more information on anything Port Townsend Golf Club-related, phone 360-385-4547.
Johnson update
Jerry Johnson’s bid to qualify for next year’s 2011 Champions Tour fell short recently at Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, Calif.
You may remember Johnson as a Port Angeles native, former assistant pro at Sequim’s Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course and a competitor in this year’s 2010 U.S. Senior Open.
Johnson finished 24th out of 53 participants in what was ostensibly the Western Regional Qualifier for the final qualifying stage at the TPC at Eagle Trace in sunny and warm Coral Springs, Fl.
Doesn’t a town named Coral Springs sound good right now?
Anyway, Johnson was playing to have a chance at the final qualifier, where 50 competitors (and six alternates) compete for 12 spots on tour, only five of which are exempt from weekly qualifying.
This means that for players 6-12, they will have earned their way through the qualifying stages and a grind-it-out final qualifier to earn the right to grind their way to a qualifying spot in Champions Tour events.
That’s a lot of swings, a lot of pressure and stress and a lot of driving from event to event.
Too bad Johnson’s efforts “ground to a halt.”
You can read my previous articles on Johnson at http://tinyurl.com/23t6con; http://tinyurl.com/2c8cu9q; and http://tinyurl.com/2andrpv
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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.