BMW Northwest Skins Game Coming to Chambers Bay

The BMW Northwest Skins Game, hosted by PGA Tour regular and Tacoma native Ryan Moore, will take place on Tuesday, October 9 at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash.

Moore will bring along some of his PGA Tour friends for the event, including Tacoma native Michael Putnam, long-driving Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley, who's enjoyed a breakout year on the PGA Tour.

Three of the four players are ranked in the top 52 on the PGA Tour money list. Baddeley is ranked ninth with $3,317,919 in earnings, while Watson is 43rd with $1,578,895 and Moore is 52nd with $1,379,970.

Watson is an attraction because of his prowess off the tee. He leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average drive of 315.2 yards. Both Baddeley and Watson were in the hunt at this year's U.S. Open, while Baddeley was near the top of the leaderboard in the last two events on the PGA Tour. The Aussie won in Phoenix earlier this season.

The BMW Northwest Skins Game will kick off on Monday, October 8, at the Classic Golf Club, which is owned by Ryan's father, Mike. The Oakley Pro-Am will take place at 9 a.m. with some of the top local club pros taking part. A junior clinic will be held at 3 p.m. featuring the four PGA Tour players. The juniors are required to bring a non-perishable food item to the Classic to be admitted to the clinic.

On Tuesday, October 9, the action shifts to Chambers Bay where the PGA Tour players will take part at 9 a.m. in a skins game with a minimum purse of $50,000 - with all the money going to the Northwest charities.

The event will raise money and food for Pacific Northwest charities such as Operation Holiday Hope, the Pierce County Emergency Food Network, Chambers Creek Foundation, the Evans Scholarship Program and Need a Break Services.

Tickets for the event are priced at $20 and will be available September 22 at the Classic Golf Club in Spanaway, Wash., Chambers Bay or Pro Golf Discount stores in Southcenter and Tacoma. Only 1,500 tickets will be available. For information, call the Classic at 253/847-4440 or Chambers Bay at 253/460-4653.