Best Tournament: Golf World Pacific Amateur Golf Classic, 888-425-3976
It’s not just the chance to play a minimum of 54 holes on a list of courses that read like a who’s-who of Central Oregon golf — Brasada Canyons, Eagle Crest (Ridge), Lost Tracks (pictured above), Bend Golf & Country Club, Quail Run and both of the resort courses at Sunriver.
Nor is it the possibility to play in a championship round at Crosswater; the $200 gift bag; the Masters-like Par-3 competition; the hole contests and skills competitions; or even the nightly dinners at clubhouses and restaurants throughout the region.
No, what keeps us — and 600 other golfers from across the nation — coming back to the Pacific Amateur Golf Classic year after year is the feeling, just for a few days, of what it’s like to be a pro.
Players in the Pacific Amateur — scheduled this year for Aug. 26-31 (tournament play begins Aug. 28) — are seeded into flights based on gender, age and handicap. After three 18-hole rounds on courses throughout the region, the top two players in each of the 32 flights advance to the final round Aug, 31 on Crosswater’s fabulous new greens, where galleries follow the players around as they compete for the coolest trophy in Northwest golf.
With so many flights, there’s literally a place for everyone, from scratch golfers looking to break 70, to 20-handicappers happy to break 90. (Case in point? Reigning overall champ Wade Bittle played to a 14 in the tournament final last year.)
When it’s all said and done, and you’re kicking back on the deck at Crosswater, sharing stories with your buddies about your amazing shots — and agonizing lip-outs — you’ll realize that having lived like a pro for a week, it’s a feeling you’ll never want to let go.