I KNEW THAT name sounded familiar.
The 2012 U.S. Senior Open will be held at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich., and North Olympic Peninsula golfers will be able to qualify locally in late June at Sequim’s Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course for a spot in the event.
If you are an amateur golfer with a handicap index not exceeding 3.4 and will turn 50 by July 12, you can qualify for play at the 2012 U.S. Senior Open.
Qualifying will be held on June 26 with the championship held from July 12-15.
A Carman connection
In a piece of Carman-family lore: My grandfather, Lyle, was born and raised in Lake Orion and he spent his summers away from high school in the mid 1930s caddying for golfers at the very same Indianwood Golf & Country Club.
Reading about the club’s history, it appears that my “Bampo,” as we called him, may have participated in a caddie strike over low wages during the 1930s, a boom period for the club.
Greens fees even went up to $1 on weekends and 75 cents on weekdays at the time.
It was my grandfather’s ancient Walter Hagen golf clubs that I found in my grandparents’ basement when I picked up the game for the first time after Tiger Woods won the Masters in 1997.
PT holiday party
Port Townsend Golf Club’s Christmas party and Christmas sale will be held Friday.
The annual event combines a celebration of the past year of golf with a chance to pick up some Christmas gifts for the golfers in your family in the pro shop.
For more details, phone 360-385-4547.
Pre-Christmas tourney
Sequim’s SkyRidge Golf Course’s Pre-Christmas 27-Hole Golf Tournament will be held Saturday.
A shotgun start is set for 8:30 a.m., barring frost.
The links course will host 28 two-person teams for the tournament, so sign up quickly!
Golfers will play nine holes of better ball from the green tees; nine holes of aggregate shot from the silver tees; and nine holes of scramble golf from the black tees.
Sign-ups are $80 per team and include the golf, range balls, food and competition money.
A honey pot is available for an extra $20 per person.
Power carts are available for $15 per seat.
Q-School qualifiers
A total of 29 golfers earned their 2012 PGA Tour cards after six mentally-taxing rounds at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament over the weekend.
University of Washington golfer Richard Lee earned a spot on the tour but my favorite name to earn a tour card was 1997 Clemson graduate Tommy Biershenk.
Previously I thought a Biershenk was what happened to one’s golf swing when one had a few too many brews at the turn.
You get the “Biershenks.”
Best of luck to Biershenk and all 28 other qualifiers.
The grind of tour play and travel can be cruel on these lower-rung guys but from reading a few books about scrappy Q-School qualifying PGA players, I know they wouldn’t trade their card for any minor-league tour victory or amenity.
The full list of winners and a recap of the week’s events are available at www.pgatour.com/qschool/.
Two years, one win
It might have been a glorified scramble, with just 17 other competitors, but Tiger Woods did win his first event this past weekend since his 2009 scandal.
To his credit, he did it in vintage Tiger fashion, sinking clutch putts when he absolutely had to have them.
He went 3-under par on the back nine and finished birdie-birdie to drop another top-notch player in Zach Johnson.
Woods also looked like his trademark focus was back and he really seemed like he cared about his play.
I was impressed with his exuberance and his enthusiasm.
When he had it going, it seemed like he could will himself to victories and he showed that again Sunday.
I hope it bodes well for a successful 2012 PGA season.
The Sports Illustrated Golf Group, a collection of tour golf writers, weighed in with their thoughts on Woods’ victory.
Read their thoughts at tinyurl.com/WoodsWins.
________
Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.