Mystic Rock at Nemacolin Resort to see heavy tournament action in next few weeks

Pete Dye's Mystic Rock course at Nemacolin Resort is about to get heavy tournament play in the coming weeks.

This weekend, the resort plays host to the Pennsylvania State Open Championship, the biggest state tournament of the year. PA PGA representatives are delighted to have their showcase event at one of the state's premier golf destinations. The course will play to a par-72, and a staggering 7,511 - almost as long as Medinah will play for the PGA Championship next week. Many players find the course similar in its natural setting and design to Dye's work at nearby Bulle Rock in Havre De Grace, MD, site of the LPGA Championship. Rounds at Mystic Rock usually cost about $185.

Next weekend, the resort hosts one of the most interesting, prestigious and unique amateur Ryder Cup format tournaments, The Potomac Cup. Pitting two teams of tournament winners - one from Maryland and the other from Virginia, the three day event has feuled a vicious rivalry between golfers from "The State" and "The Commonwealth" and draws hundreds of applicants to qualifying matches each year. Tournament director and Fox Radio Sports Broadcaster Steve Czaban noted, "We are thrilled to have the event at a tour stop. It will make it that much more exciting for the participants and the course promises to be in fantastic condition. This is shaping up to be the best Potomac Cup ever."

I'll be covering the Potomac Cup matches live for Cybergolf with bonus coverage here and at Golf Observer.

Finally, September 11-17 the resort hosts the PGA Tour's 84 Lumber Classic. Past winners include popular stars John Daly, Chris DiMarco, Vijay Singh and miracle winner last year Jason Gore, who captured the hearts and minds of fans everywhere - especially the beer and chicken wing crowd - with his gutsy play at the 2005 U.S. Open, his graceful demeanor, "aw shucks" smile, humble family and rotund physique.

Media frenzy will be at fever pitch that week as Michelle Wie, who had her agent give her caddie the news he was terminated, will start in her sixth attempt to try to make a cut in a men's event in the USA. We will also play in Switzerland in the European Tour's Omega European Masters. Wie received special exemptions both times. The European tour is the fourth different tour on which Wie will compete - the others being the Asian Tour, the PGA and the LPGA. Wier finished tied for 26th in the British Open and never broke par in a single round at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's.