HAVING THE PENINSULA Cup stay on the North Olympic Peninsula was a foregone conclusion.
But having Port Angeles’ Peninsula Golf Club buck the trend of host-site victories and win the third annual edition of the tournament on the road at Port Ludlow was a surprise.
Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course in Sequim claimed the inaugural tourney on its home course in 2009 and SunLand Golf & Country Club of Sequim took top honors while hosting in 2010.
A six-man team of Peninsula Golf Club golfers dispatched Cedars at Dungeness by just one stroke for first place Saturday.
Discovery Bay was third, SunLand finished fourth, Port Ludlow fifth and Sequim’s SkyRidge was sixth.
Port Townsend was unable to participate because it was hosting the annual Jim Caldwell Memorial Rhody Open the same day.
Greg Mullikan from SunLand, Gerald Petersen from Peninsula and Josh Graves from Discovery Bay earned KPs.
Overall low gross honors were shared by Roy Sutherland from Discovery Bay and Mike Dupuis from Peninsula.
Overall low net honors were shared by Sutherland and Tim Durner, both from Discovery Bay.
Members of the winning team from Peninsula Golf Club are Gary Thorne, Dupuis, Rick Parkhurst, Petersen, Lane Richards, Gene Ketchum, Greg Senf, Dave Wahsten, Jim Cole, Eric Schaefermeyer, John Tweter and Darrel Vincent.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours at Port Ludlow and have played Peninsula about 10 times, and I have a theory why Peninsula was able to come out on top.
It’s the trees.
Both courses are lined with so many of them that Peninsula players had to feel at home at Port Ludlow.
If they had issues and found the trees, they’ve practiced those through-the-tree-limb types of shots before at home and were able to either duplicate them last Saturday or stay straight and avoid getting into trouble (with all the brush lining many of Ludlow’s holes).
There are similar types of elevation changes at the two courses as well, with both layouts starting at the tops of hills before winding down and around and back up to the clubhouse.
Hail to the victors!
Ping demo today
Peninsula Golf Club will host a Ping Demo Day today from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Ping Man (not the one on the merchandise) will have his entire 2011 equipment line with him and visitors can try out the featured K15 driver and fairway line.
Trey Green deadline
Golfers have until Friday to sign up for the 2011 Trey Green Golf Tournament at Cedars at Dungeness on June 3.
The tournament is a benefit for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
The Trey Green Guild is one of the active groups fundraising for Children’s Hospital and the tournament, and a Wine Gala Benefit on June 4 are two primary fundraisers for the guild’s donation efforts.
The four-person scramble event is $100 per player or $400 per team.
The fee includes cart, range balls and tee prizes.
There’s a $10,000 hole-in-one contest and prizes for straightest drive and KP.
To sign up for the tournament, phone Cedars at 360-683-6344 or Darrell Stephens at 360-460-8735 or Art Green at 360-808-3320.
If you are more interested in the wine gala, phone Janet Grey at 360-683-1101 or visit www.treygreenguild.com.
SunLand setup
SunLand has a ton of events coming up in the next few weeks.
Head pro Tyler Sweet and staffers will host demo days with TaylorMade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, and with Callaway from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 3.
May is PGA Free Lesson Month, and Sweet will hold free 10-minute lessons starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Golfers will be able to use any new clubs purchased at the demo days and can put Tyler’s tips to the test at SunLand’s open house on Saturday, June 4.
Players can get in a round of golf, have lunch and learn about SunLand all for only $10.
SunLand also will host an ESPN Golf Challenge Qualifier on Saturday, June 11.
This qualifier costs $52 and includes a dozen Callaway IX Tour golf balls, a Golf magazine subscription and 18 holes.
Winners won’t have to advance too far as SunLand will be the host of the 2011 ESPN Regional Tournament on Aug. 14.
For more information, or to sign up for any SunLand-related event, phone the pro shop at 360-683-6800, ext. 13.
SkyRidge turns 8
SkyRidge Golf Course will celebrate its eighth anniversary with a two-person modified Chapman format “SkyRidge Chapman” tournament on Saturday, June 11.
The tourney will tee off with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
Cost is $60 per team and includes 18 holes of golf, range balls, lunch after play, KPs and long putt prizes.
An optional honey pot will be available for $20 per team.
There will be gross and net divisions.
Each player will hit a tee shot, and then players will hit each other’s ball on the second shot.
Then teams will switch to alternate shot using the better of the second shots.
The kicker is the player with the worst of the second shots has to hit their team’s third shot.
To sign up for the tournament, phone 360-683-3673.
The ‘Quimper Quarrel’
On June 11, Port Townsend Golf Club will host the annual Port Townsend Alumni Association Golf Classic that pits Port Townsend graduates against their Chimacum rivals.
The tourney raises funds for the PTHS Alumni Scholarship Fund.
The 18-hole four-person scramble will begin with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
For more information, or to sign up for any Port Townsend event, phone the pro shop at 360-385-4547.
Around the world
On the week that Tiger Woods falls out of the Top 10 of the World Golf Rankings for the first time in 14 years, I will offer up a well-written column from the Hartford Courant’s Jeff Jacobs on . . . Bubba Watson.
Watson is 11th in the most recent rankings and is first in FedEx Cup standings, the year-long PGA Tour competition.
He’s a popular player on the tour, is American and is named Bubba.
Media members are falling all over themselves (myself included) in hoping he becomes the next American star.
The column gives a little insight as to how Watson was able to put things together and improve his game.
You can read it at tinyurl.com/3tfh4tl.
Ponderosa Pines watch out
I’m trekking down to Suttle Lake near Sisters, Ore. for a Memorial Day Weekend camping/fishing/golfing/drinking extravaganza tomorrow.
My buddies and I have plans to play at either Black Butte Ranch’s Big Meadows Course or Aspen Lakes Golf Course, the two tracks nearest to our campsite.
Each course looks fantastic and have received accolades from many different prestigious golf publications.
I’ll have a full Central Oregon golf report in an upcoming article.
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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.