The 92nd Washington State Men’s Amateur Championship is set to take place August 7-9 at Gamble Sands in Brewster, 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 (WSGA).
The first tee time for the first round is 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 7. First and second round pairings and tee times can be found here.
Click here for full details on the championship.
Click here to watch course architect David McLay Kidd discuss how competitors can best play Gamble Sands in this year’s championship. And click here to watch Gamble Sands’ General Manager Brady Hatfield discuss this year’s championship.
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 nearly 300 entries from those vying for a spot in the field of 120 who will compete in the championship proper. There were 32 players who had earned exemption into the championship based on criteria previously set forth, and three 18-hole qualifiers were held around the state:
- The Home Course | July 23, 2018 – Results
- Gold Mountain (Olympic) | July 25, 2018 – Results
- Wine Valley GC | July 26, 2018 – Results
Last year, Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash. won the title, held at the Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash. Two years ago, Highsmith missed out of a playoff by one shot, so last year’s title was a good comeback. He will not be in the field this year, as he is preparing for the following week’s U.S. Amateur which will be held at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Some of the notable names in this year’s strong field include:
- Mitchell Baldridge (Tacoma) – recent graduate and member of Pacific Lutheran University men’s golf team who won the 2018 PNGA Men’s Amateur last month.
- Reid Hatley (Hayden Lake, Idaho) – the 2015, 2016 and 2017 WSGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, who earlier this summer tied for sixth in the Mexican Amateur and was named to Team Washington in the Morse Cup of the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur.
- Chase Carlson (Tacoma) – won the 2016 Washington State Amateur, and finished T6 last year.
- David Ganz (Portland, Ore.) – recent graduate and member of the Gonzaga University men’s golf team, earned low-amateur honors with a T2 finish at the 2018 Washington Open, playing against the region’s PGA professionals.
- Clayton Thatcher (Tacoma) – 18-year-old senior-to-be at Bellarmine Prep who last week won the 2018 WJGA State Championship.
- Sean Kato (Redmond) – won the 2016 WJGA State Championship, and last week finished second in the 2018 championship.
- Ryan Maine (Spokane) – sophomore-to-be on the Washington State University men’s golf team, finished T9 in last year’s championship.
- Jim McNelis (Gig Harbor) – won the 2017 WSGA Senior Men’s Amateur in a seven-hole playoff and recently qualified for the 2018 U.S. Senior Men’s Amateur, earning medalist honors.
- Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek) – recent graduate and member of Seattle University men’s golf team won the 2017 Seattle Amateur and advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship earlier this year with playing partner Patrick Sato.
- Chris Hatch (Mukilteo) – a 2017 graduate of Western Washington University where he played all four years on the men’s golf team, and was named First Team All-GNAC for three years. He played in the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2015. Hatch also made it to the Round of 32 at the PNGA Men’s Amateur earlier this month, and has qualified to play in the 2018 U.S. Amateur.
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.
Opened in 2014 and designed by David McLay Kidd, Gamble Sands was immediately tagged as the No. 1 “Best New Course” by both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and is currently No. 37 on Golf Digest’s “Top 100 Public Courses.” Gamble Sands is managed by OB Sports Golf Management.
Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 69,000 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.
To join the conversation on social media, follow WSGA Championships on Twitter @WSGAChampions and use the hashtag #WSGAMensAm for live tweets and updates.
