Focus turns to Circling Raven
Just when it seems like the golf season should be starting to wind down, the activity at Circling Raven Golf Club is kicking into another gear.
The prestigious 7,189-yard, Gene Bates-designed layout in Worley, Idaho, will host the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Professional championship Aug. 22-24. The $45,000 tournament is one of the section’s top events and is expected to draw one of the year’s best fields.
But of even more interest to the average golfer is the Play Golf America Day that will be held at Circling Raven on Aug. 20, as an unofficial lead-in to the sectional championship.
Play Golf America Day, which is being sponsored by the Inland Empire Chapter of the NWPGA, is part of a nation-wide promotional effort aimed at furthering the PGA of America’s quest to boost the game of golf and is open to the public free of charge.
The event, which is scheduled to run from noon until 4 p.m., is one of the 45 Play Golf America Days scheduled to take place across the country this summer and will feature lessons from PGA professionals, swing analysis, club fitting, demo clubs and equipment from national vendors.
In addition, nationally acclaimed trick-shot artist Peter Johncke will be on hand to perform his act from 2-3 p.m. on Circling Raven’s massive 25-acre practice facility.
There will also be prize drawings throughout the afternoon.
“It’s designed to make non-golfers and new golfers more aware of the sport,” explained Spokane Country Club head professional and NWPGA section president Les Blakley. “We’re trying to create a carnival-like atmosphere in hopes of getting more people to come to the event and get involved.”
Blakley said he expects between 10-15 PGA professionals to be on hand to provide advice for golfers of all skill levels.
“Most of them will be from our Inland Empire chapter,” he said, “but with the event kind of preceding the sectional championship, we should have some professionals from other parts of the region, as well.”
Blakley said the event is open to everyone.
“It’s not just for beginners,” he stressed. “Even golfers who play 100 times a year are welcome to come out and enjoy the afternoon.”
Triplett faces surgery
It looks as if Kirk Triplett will shut his golf game down early again this year because of tendinitis and ligament damage in his left elbow.
The 44-year-old PGA Tour veteran and former Pullman resident is playing in this week’s International in Castle Pines, Colo., but is in danger of missing the cut after accumulating only five points prior to Friday’s suspension of play because of inclement weather conditions and darkness.
His wife, Cathi, confirmed earlier this week that her husband plans to play in only two more events – next week’s PGA Championship at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club and the Reno-Tahoe Open the following week – before undergoing surgery on his ailing elbow.
Triplett encountered a similar problem in his right elbow last summer and played in only 18 Tour events before opting for surgery. As a result, he failed to make the top 125 on the PGA’s money list and temporarily lost his exempt status.
He was, however, granted a Minor Medical Extension that gave him 11 events in 2006 to earn $28,591 – the money total of Nick Price, who finished No. 125 on the last year’s money list.
Triplett accomplished that easily and early by tying for 27th in the FBR Open, only the second event of the season, and later added $540,000 to his earnings total by winning the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
He ranks 79th on this year’s money list with $760,293 and will be exempt from qualifying in 2006 because of his win in Tucson.
Cathi Triplett described her husband’s latest physical problems as “just another case of normal wear and tear,” and said he has kept his decision to have surgery low key.
“Not many people know about it,” she said. “But that win (in Tucson) sure made the decision a lot less stressful than last year.”