I LOVE PORTLAND. OREGON, THAT IS. (Although I also enjoyed Portland, Maine, on my one brief visit.) The Safeway Classic, which tees off tomorrow, has been a Portland-area fixture for four decades.
This year’s tournament will be played at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in the suburb of North Plains hosted the 2012 event won by Mika Miyazato.
The women have played Columbia Edgewater many times before. So have the men, for that matter, about a half century ago. Jack Nicklaus won the Portland Open in 1962, despite being penalized for slow play. That’s right. Read on.
Notes from LPGA’s Ward Clayton:
There will be something new and familiar about this week’s Safeway Classic. The venue is Columbia Edgewater Country Club, which has been the site 20 times, the most in the 40-year history of the tournament. The new feature is a 72-hole format for the first time the tournament debuted in 1972 at Portland Country Club.
An American hasn’t won the tournament since it was last played at Columbia Edgewater in 2008 when Cristie Kerr defeated Helen Aldredsson and Sophie Gufstafson in a playoff.
The venue was also the home of the Portland Open on the PGA Tour from 1961-63 and in 1966. The winners included, in order, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus, George Knudsen and Bert Yancey. Nicklaus’ 1962 victory included a first-round 64 and a streak of six consecutive birdies. He was also assessed a two-stroke, slow-play penalty during the tournament.
Hey, Jack. While we’re … nevermind. Fifty-one years too late.
TV SCHEDULE
TV coverage of the Safeway Classic is on Golf Channel. All times Eastern.
Thu, Aug 29
5:30 PM-8:30 PM
Fri, Aug 30
6:30 PM-8:30 PM
Sat, Aug 31
6:30 PM-8:30 PM
Sun, Sep 1
7:00 PM-9:30 PM