The 91st Washington State Men’s Amateur Championship is set to take place August 8-10 on the Rope Rider and Tumble Creek courses at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, 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 the Washington State Golf Association.
The state’s premier men’s amateur championship, which is considered a counting event toward the World Amateur Golf Ranking, traditionally attracts the region’s finest players. This year’s championship received nearly 300 entries from those vying for a spot in the field of 120 who will compete in the championship proper. There were 37 players who had earned exemption into the championship based on criteria previously set forth, and three 18-hole qualifiers were held around the state to fill out the remainder of the final field of 120. Last year, Chase Carlson of Tacoma, Wash. battled through a six-hole playoff with Derek Bayley of Rathdrum, Idaho to win the title, with the championship held at Carlson’s home course of historic Tacoma Country and Golf Club. Both players are in the field again this year. Last month, Bayley finished runner-up in the PNGA Men’s Amateur. Also returning this year is Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash., the Bellarmine Prep senior and 2016 WSGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year who finished one shot out of last year’s playoff. This spring, Highsmith won the individual (and team) WIAA 4A High School State Championship, and also qualified for the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur, where he made it to the Round of 32 before losing to eventual champion Noah Goodwin.
Some of the other notable names in this year’s strong field include: Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho, the 2015 and 2016 WSGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, who qualified for the 2017 U.S. Amateur to be held later in August at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Drew McCullough of Richland, Wash., the University of Wyoming senior who earlier this year won the Washington Open, playing against the region’s professionals. Aaron Whalen of Ephrata, Wash., who finished tied for ninth in last month’s Pacific Coast Amateur, held at Chambers Bay, and who has qualified for the 2017 U.S. Amateur. Andrew Whalen, the older brother of Aaron, who was named the 2016 WSGA Men’s Player of the Year. Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., the former Seattle Mariners pitcher and 2016 WSGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year who has already won the PNGA Master-40 Championship this summer. Sean Kato of Redmond, Wash. who last week won the Washington State Junior Championship. Tyler Salsbury, who won this championship in 2014 and is a recent graduate of the University of Washington where he played on the men’s golf team. Drew Halili of Port Orchard, Wash. who has been selected as a First Tee participant to play in the PGA TOUR Champions tournament at Pebble Beach in September.
Past champions of the Washington State Amateur include Fred Couples, Alex Prugh, Brock Mackenzie, Chris Williams, Kermit Zarley, John Bodenhamer, and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers Al Mengert, Bud Ward, Jack Westland and Harry Givan, among many others. The nationally-acclaimed Tom Doak-designed Tumble Creek course has been the site of several U.S. Open local and sectional qualifiers, and the Rope Rider course was designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy. Located 80 miles east of Seattle, the 6,400-acre Suncadia Resort, a Destination Hotel, features 254 guest suites and penthouses, a variety of upscale rental homes, several dining options, LEED Silver-Certified spa, three championship golf courses, swim and fitness center and conference facility. As Washington’s premier all-seasons mountain destination, Suncadia offers unlimited recreational activities throughout the year, including hiking, biking, fishing and horseback riding along with cross-country skiing, ice skating, sledding, tubing and snow shoeing. For more information on Suncadia, visit www.suncadia.com. Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 68,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, the WSGA works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds. The WSGA also serves as a statewide representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
