Northwest Notes Jan. 6, 2023
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 3 years, 8 months AGO
Circling Raven Championship purse increased from $200,000 to $225,000
The purse for the third annual Circling Raven Championship, a women's professional golf event scheduled for August at Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, has been increased $25,000 to $225,000, the Epson Tour announced.
The purses for the first two years of the event, part of the LPGA qualifying tour, were $200,000.
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, which sponsors the event, is responsible for funding the purse, and some of that money is raised through corporate sponsorships.
This year's Circling Raven Championship, a 54-hole event, is scheduled for Aug. 25-27. The tourney is preceded by two days of pro-ams.
The Circling Raven event will be the fourth in a stretch of four tournaments in four weeks on the Epson Tour. The Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic at Wildhorse Golf Course in Pendleton, Ore., is scheduled for Aug. 18-20. The Pendleton event, which debuted last year, was the week following the Circling Raven event in 2022. The purse for the Wildhorse tourney remains at $200,000.
All told, the Epson Tour's 22-tournament schedule will offer over $4.9 million in total prize money, for an average purse size of $223,000. Both amounts exceed last year’s record-setting total prize funds ($4.41 million) and average purse size ($210,000). The season will tee off Feb. 27-March 5 with the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in Winter Haven, Fla., at the Country Club of Winter Haven.
The Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in Mesa, Ariz., in mid-March and the French Lick (Ind.) Charity Classic in early August will share the honor of having the largest purse in Epson Tour history at $335,000.
The purse for the Copper Rock Championship in Hurricane, Utah, in late April was increased from $200,000 to $220,000.
College of Idaho to add beach volleyball
CALDWELL — The College of Idaho is adding beach volleyball as an intercollegiate program, becoming the fifth program in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the second in the state of Idaho to officially offer the sport.
Boise State also offers beach volleyball.
Beach volleyball becomes the 21st varsity program that will compete in the 2023-24 campaign with the College of Idaho’s first official competition slated for the spring of 2024.
The process of finding the first head beach volleyball coach is underway.
Information: collegeofidaho.edu/jobs
Chiefs trade forward Swetlikoff to Lethbridge
The Spokane Chiefs acquired a second-round pick in the 2026 WHL Draft, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 WHL Draft and the rights to Jack Lackas from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for forward Blake Swetlikoff.
Swetlikoff played 128 games for the Chiefs, posting 61 total points on 22 goals and 39. He was originally the Chiefs’ third-round pick (61st overall) in the 2018 WHL Draft.
The 6-foot centerman has appeared in all 34 of Spokane’s games this year and has scored five goals and 14 assists for 19 total points.
The 16-year-old Lackas was selected by Lethbridge with the second overall pick in the 2021 WHL U.S. Prospect Draft. Lackas has been playing in Phoenix’s Jr. Coyotes program for the past two seasons, scoring 15 goals and 24 points in 21 games for the 15U AAA team last year. He has two goals, six assists and eight points in seven games for the 16U squad this season.