Bremerton, Wash. – The historic 100th Washington Men’s Amateur Championship is set to take place July 6-8 on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash. The championship will consist of 54 holes of stroke play, with the field cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes. The three-day championship is being conducted by Washington Golf (WA Golf).
The first tee time for the first round is 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 6.
Championship links:
To stay connected on social media, follow WA Golf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and use the hashtag #WAGolfMensAm.
The state’s premier men’s amateur championship, which is a counting event toward the World Amateur Golf Ranking, traditionally attracts the region’s finest players.
This year’s championship received more than 400 entries from those vying for a spot in the field of 120 who will compete in the championship proper. There were 22 players who had accepted an exemption into the championship based on criteria previously set forth, and five 18-hole qualifiers were held around the state – at Gold Mountain (Cascade) in Bremerton, Kalispel Golf and Country Club in Spokane, The Home Course in DuPont Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla and North Bellingham Golf Course in Bellingham – to fill out the remainder of the final field of 120.
Last year, Sean Kato of Redmond went wire-to-wire in winning the championship, held at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Kato, who won the 2017 Washington State Junior Championship, is a rising senior on the Oregon State University men’s golf team. He played in the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, held in May at Chambers Bay. Kato will be in the field this week at Gold Mountain to try to defend his title.
Other notable names in this year’s strong field include:
- Nathan Cogswell (Kent) – Won the 2020 Northwest Open Invitational, competing against the region’s PGA Professionals; finished fourth in 2020 Washington Men’s Amateur; named 2020 WA Golf Men’s Player of Year.
- Reid Hatley (Hayden Lake, Idaho) – Won the 2019 Washington Men’s Amateur; named the WA Golf Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year for the past six consecutive years.
- John Sand (Hoquiam) – Runner-up at the 2019 Washington Men's Amateur (lost in playoff); won the 2016 Washington Men's Champion of Champions.
- Zachary Stocker (Spokane) – Finished third in 2020 Washington Men’s Amateur; rising senior on Gonzaga University men’s golf team.
- RJ Manke (Lakewood) – Won 2018 Washington Men’s Amateur, and 2019 Mexican Amateur; won two individual titles while playing for Pepperdine, and won the WCC Championship while just a sophomore; recently transferred to play for the University of Washington men’s golf team.
- Drew Warford (Snoqualmie) – Two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur, and two-time 4A High School individual state champion; rising sophomore on University of Washington men’s golf team.
- Blake Kukula (Ocean Park) – Won three consecutive 1B/2B High School individual state championships; rising sophomore on Seattle University men’s golf team.
The Washington Men’s Amateur is the longest-running continuously-held golf championship in the state. Its illustrious history traces the arc and the growth of the state’s golf community. Past champions include Fred Couples, Joel Dahmen, Alex Prugh, Brock Mackenzie, Kermit Zarley, John Bodenhamer, and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers Al Mengert, Bud Ward, Jack Westland and Harry Givan, among many others. A history of the championship can be found here.
About Gold Mountain Golf Club
Owned by the city of Bremerton, Gold Mountain Golf Club is one of the top municipal golf facilities in the country, consisting of two championship layouts, the Cascade Course and Olympic Course. Opened in 1996, the Olympic Course was designed by Northwest architect John Harbottle III. It has hosted numerous regional and national championships, including the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links, and the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur, won by Jordan Spieth. This is the third time the Olympic Course has hosted the Washington Men’s Amateur, with it previously being held there in 1997 and 2007.
About Washington Golf
Founded in 1922, WA Golf is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving more than 75,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, WA Golf works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds and abilities.
WA Golf also serves as a statewide representative of the United States Golf Association and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
