Summiting Snoqualmie Ridge
Boeing Classic offers plenty of star power — tournament week is Aug. 10-16
By Bob Sherwin • CG Staff Writer
Every year, as far as Boeing Classic golf galleries at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge are concerned, the focus is always on our hometown guy Fred “Boom Boom” Couples. He has long said that this is the one tournament he would love to win. His many fans here root for the same result. But his best finish has been third, which he’s done four times, the last in 2019.
He is 66 years old now with a well-documented history of back issues. Couples has played in just three Champions Tour events this year, the last one on March 27 at the Hoag Classic, finishing T40. He has not played competitively since he gutted out two rounds at the Masters, missing the cut.
The 1992 Masters champion has played in every Boeing Classic but one (back issues in 2016) since he turned 50 in 2010, but never knows when his back will betray him, such as 2012. After hitting his opening tee shot at the Snoqualmie Ridge course, he locked up and couldn’t even finish the hole.
If Couples can’t compete when the 20th Boeing Classic begins Aug. 10, perhaps fans can follow these three former major champions, also with smooth, elegant swings.
Legends By The Falls Here’s Three To Watch
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Zach Johnson
The 12-time PGA Tour champion — including the 2007 Masters title and the 2015 Open Championship — turned 50 on Feb. 24. Two weeks later, he won the first tournament he entered. Two weeks after that, he finished third. A week later, he finished second, a 1-3-2 Champions start.
By mid-June, he had two victories in eight starts, a second, two thirds and two fifths. If he is in the field, he’ll challenge for the best rookie season ever.
He will be Champions Tour force for years to come and has the respect of everyone.
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Ernie Els
Els, 56, had a prolific career, with 47 international victories, including 19 PGA Tour wins and his four major wins — 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens, 2002 and 2012 Open Championships. In his 139 starts on the Champions Tour, by mid-June, he had seven wins, 12 seconds, 14 thirds and 75 top 10s.
Last year at the Boeing, he finished third, two strokes behind the winner Steve Allan. Els remains popular not just because he’s still competitive but because, like Couples, he has a distinctive “Big Easy” swing. So relaxed, yet so dynamic.
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Stewart Cink
Cink, 53, will always be remembered for his 2009 Open Championship victory over Tom Watson. That was one of eight PGA Tour victories.
He has had 691 Tour starts — among the most ever — making 506 cuts. By mid-June, he had the same number of victories (8) in 45 Champions Tour starts. He has finished in the top 25 for 42 of his 45 starts. By mid-summer, he was leading the Schwab Cup standings by nearly $1 million in prize money. In his lone appearance at the Boeing last year, Cink finished second, one stroke behind Steve Allan.
Late Bloomers
Take note of these past champions
If those three major champions are in the Boeing field, they’ll attempt to become the fourth major winner to win the Boeing, joining Bernhard Langer (1985 and 1993 Masters), Mark Calcavecchia (1989 Open Championship) and Tom Kite (1992 U.S. Open).
By contrast, six of the 17 Boeing champions never even had one victory on the PGA Tour. They had to wait until they were past 50 to wear their first crowns. Here are the late blooming Boeing champions with a combined 1,055 PGA Tour starts without taking home a trophy.
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David Eger • 2005 • Age 74 (retired)
The tournament’s inaugural champion, Eger, then 53, had four career victories on the Champions Tour in 299 starts, taking home $7.4 million in prize money. On the PGA Tour, he missed the cut in 41 of the 71 tournaments and finished with no wins, one top five finish and $461,988 in earnings.
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John Riegger • 2013 • Age 66
Boeing was his only Champions Tour victory in 84 career starts. And it was his only victory overall, including 224 starts in his PGA Tour career. Riegger won Boeing with birdies on three of the final four holes to hold off veterans Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, John Cook and Couples, who had a combined 34 PGA Tour victories, including four majors.
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Scott Dunlap • 2014 • Age 62
Boeing is one of two Champions Tour victories in his 249-start career and $7.17 million in earnings. He had 204 starts on the PGA Tour, winning $2.9 million, and his best finishes were two third places.
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Scott Parel • 2018 • Age 61
He has cashed in like no other among the 50-plus crowd. Boeing was one of four victories on the Champions Tour in 235 starts and has won $8.6 million. His PGA Tour career was barely noticeable — five starts, four missed cuts, and $11,660 in earnings.
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Brandt Jobe • 2019 • Age 60
Boeing was one of two Champions Tour wins in his 168 starts, earning $6.69 million. His PGA Tour career was respectable, finishing with 337 starts (145 missed cuts) and $9 million in earnings, but no wins and four second place finishes.
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Steve Allan • 2025 • Age 52
This Aussie youngster finally hit his stride in his third Champions season, winning three times last year. He already has won $2.8 million on his late-bloomer golf life. In his 214 PGA Tour starts (missing 114 cuts), he had two seconds and one third, collecting $3.62 million.
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Miguel Ángel Jiménez • 2021 • Age 62
Technically, 2021 Boeing winner Miguel Angel Jimenez never won on the PGA Tour but he’s not a late bloomer or loser. The Spainard has won 45 tournaments worldwide, including 17 Champion titles.
Perch From These Points Of View
Three locations to watch the events unfold
18th Hole • Craftsman
This hole was made for spectators, as the Jack Nicklaus-designed course carved a half bowl around the par-5 finale. There is no reasonable limit to the number of fans that can fill the natural amphitheater hill behind the hole while the corporate tents line the left side.
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14th Hole • Canyon Club
If you walk down the reverse left side of the 18th hole, you’ll reach a small grass hill that takes you to premium 14th par-4, canyon hole bleachers. You can catch all the risk/reward drives coming from a 100-foot drop into the smallish green. It’s an all-day festive amphitheater.
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13th Hole • Bleachers
Now climb that 14th hole to the par-3 13th. Here you will be rewarded with two of the best views on the course. You can follow pin-seeking groups coming through while the whole time staring out at the granite face of Mount Si and the Cascades.
Make Or Break Spots
Three consequential holes can present challenges
18th Hole • Par 5 • 498 yards
The best view hole also is the most consequential. It’s a short par-5 (498 yards) as most of the players can reach in two. They need accurate approaches as the green is surrounded by bunkers with a small green entry. Many of the tournaments have had dramatic finishes, including six playoff battles ending on 18.
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14th Hole • Par 4 • 448 yards
The Canyon Hole. It’s a risk/reward, all-carry drive to the green over a deep canyon. Tournament officials generally move up the tees to tempt the players. It’s a safe play to drive it short, then chip up to the pin. But come Sunday when a player trails by a shot or two, the risk is worth contemplating.
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4th Hole • Par 4 • 426 yards
From an elevated tee position, the drive needs to be pinpointed along the left ridge. Too far left and the ball could be lost in the bramble. The bramble extends to the left side of the green while bunkers guard the right side and behind. Another precise approach is necessary.
Visit BoeingClassic.com for tickets, updates and transportation information.