The first round of the 5th Annual Washington State Champion of Champions will tee off Tuesday morning at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., officially commencing the 2014 WSGA Championship season. The championship is being held April 22-23.
This championship traditionally consists of the strongest field of the year, with past champions from around the state of Washington coming together to compete in four divisions - men, senior men, women and senior women. The championship calls for 36 holes of stroke play over two days, with competitors being re-paired according to score for the final round.
This year, Mike Haack of Bellevue, Wash. in the men's division and Keith Crimp of Ellensburg, Wash. in the senior men's division both return to defend their titles. Haack has also won this event in 2010. Other past champions of this event in this field include Bjorn Bjorke (2009) of Port Orchard, Wash. and Sean Packer (2012) of Seattle. In the senior men's division, past champion Tom Brandes (2012) of Bellevue, Wash. will be paired with Crimp in the first round. For the women, past champion Denise Keiffer (2009) of University Place, Wash. will lead the field, while past champion Yasue Alkins (2012) of DuPont, Wash. will look to reclaim the title in the senior women's division.
To be eligible, a player must fall into one of the following categories:
- 2012 or 2013 Club Champion or Senior Club Champion of a WSGA member club
- 2013 champion of a WSGA Championship (excludes all team championships)
- Top-10 on the WSGA Men's Performance Points List as of December 31, 2013
- Top-5 on the WSGA Women's Performance Points List as of December 31, 2013
- Top-5 on the WSGA Senior Men's Performance Points List as of December 31, 2013
- Top-5 on the WSGA Senior Women's Performance Points List as of December 31, 2013
- 2013 WJGA State Junior Boys' and Girls' Champion
- 2013 champion of any event on the WSGA Men's, Women's, Senior Men's, or Senior Women's Performance Points List.
The WSGA Champion of Champions is one of 15 state championships conducted annually by the Washington State Golf Association.
