Birch Ridge Golf Report: Walker Cup is back as Peninsula Cup

As we reach the height of summer, competitions are heating up at Birch Ridge Golf Course.

Monday, Senior Men’s Golf was held and the format was three clubs (including putter, if you decided to use it). There were 21 participants and the winner was Mike Hollingsworth with a net 31.

He shot the best gross score he’d ever shot with three clubs — a driver, 7-iron and wedge. If you have talent, you don’t need 14 clubs. Steve Hammarstrom won closest to the pin at the sixth and Mike Hollingsworth won closest to the pin at the eighth. Longest putt went to George Stein.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Tuesday ladies day only had seven players. I think the ladies were tending their gardens and various other tasks in a busy summer. It was a beautiful day. Leona Jackson had both low net and won the “mystery hole.” Carmen Stephl had the longest putt at 19 feet.

Wednesday, Men’s Night was crowded with 24 players. The team of Jakob Brown, (a Jr.) Mark Baker, Trevor Baldwin and Jake Eveland won low gross with a score of 6-under-par 29. Trevor Baldwin also had two pure birdies, one on No. 2 and one on No. 7. Jakob Brown was closest to on both par 3s — Nos. 6 and 8.

Thursday, five couples came out for Couples Night. As there were only five couples involved, only the best net scores were considered.

The format was shamble, with both hitting a drive, then picking the best one and playing alternate shot into the hole. The twist was you had to use your significant other’s putter.

The scores were all high and the win was a tie between Gary Dawkins and Lori Riggs Bishop, and Pat and Myrna Cowan. Closest to the pin was Del Hoagland at the sixth. The weather was great. A super time was had by all.

Friday, I traveled to the Kenai Golf Course to meet with Gordon Griffin, Pedro McCall and Tommy Carver, with the purpose being to reinstate the Walker Cup. The event will now be called the Peninsula Cup as two pros from each team are allowed to participate.

Gordon Griffin will be the captain of the Kenai team and Pat Cowan will be the captain of the Birch Ridge team (with help from Zac Cowan and the organizer, Pedro McCall).

The dates of the competition are set as Aug. 15, 17 and 19. Format is match play — two-man best ball on Aug. 15, tee-off time 5:30 p.m. On Aug. 17, the format is two-man match play alternate shot, tee-off time 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19, it will be 12-man individual match play, tee-off time 11 a.m.

All matches will be held at the Kenai Golf Course because I lost the coin toss with Mike Chenault’s Speaker of the House coin.

More in Sports

tease
Kenai finishes 6th, Soldotna takes 10th, Homer nabs 13th at Rally in the Valley

Kenai Central finished sixth, Soldotna finished 10th and Homer finished 13th at… Continue reading

tease
Track: SoHi girls, boys sweep meets in Kodiak; Homer girls, boys take 2nd at Wasilla Invite

The Soldotna and Seward track and field teams traveled to Seward for… Continue reading

tease
Saturday baseball: Soldotna ties for 3rd at Buddy Dale Invitational

The Soldotna and Wasilla baseball teams played to a 5-all tie Saturday… Continue reading

Kenai Central's Enrique Mercado and Carter Felchle battle with Soldotna's Trae Pitsch for the ball Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Ed Hollier Field at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Saturday soccer: Ketchikan boys, Wasilla girls win soccer tourneys

The Ketchikan boys won the Kenai Invitational Cup and the Wasilla girls… Continue reading

Kenai Central's Gabe Joanis beats the tag of Homer's Henry Wedvik on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the Kenai Little League fields in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Friday baseball: Kenai tops Homer; SoHi beats Colony

The Kenai Central baseball team defeated Homer 12-8 on Friday in nonconference… Continue reading

TEASE
Friday: Kenai goes 2-0, SoHi goes 1-0 at Rally in the Valley

Kenai went 2-0, Soldotna went 1-0 and Homer went 0-2 at the… Continue reading

tease
Friday: Kenai, Wasilla girls; Wasilla, Ketchikan boys advance to tourney finals

The Kenai Central and Wasilla girls, and Ketchikan and Wasilla boys, advanced… Continue reading

tease
Thursday: Kenai, SoHi, Homer softball get seasons rolling at Rally in the Valley

Soldotna went 0-2-1, Homer went 0-2 and Kenai went 1-1 on Thursday… Continue reading

tease
Thursday soccer: Kenai, SoHi girls, boys reach tourney semifinals

The Kenai Central, Grace Christian, Wasilla and Soldotna girls advanced to the… Continue reading

Most Read