Bae and Douglas Go Low to Take First Round Lead at 61st Washington State Men’s Best-Ball Championship

Chris Bae of Issaquah and Brad Douglas combined to shoot 8-under par on the par-71 Kalispel Golf and Country Club in Spokane to take the first round lead in the 61st Washington State Men’s Best-Ball Championship.

Bae is no stranger to the tops of leaderboards, having already won this championship once before, in 2013 (with partner Craig Larson) and being a past champion of the Seattle Amateur (2010).

On their heels is the team of Jon McCaslin of Olympia and Ryan Kelly of Gig Harbor; and also Cameron Whittle of Moses Lake and Aaron Whalen of Ephrata, with both teams tied for second at 6-under, two shots behind Bae and Douglas.

Kelly, 43, stayed with the young guns last summer in the Washington State Amateur, finishing tied for fourth.

Whalen is a former 2A high school individual champion who has earned his way into major events such as the 2015 U.S. Amateur, while Whittle is a past member of the Whitworth University Men’s Golf team.

Click here for daily updates on scoring, starting times, and more. Follow WSGA Championships on Twitter for live updates at @WSGAChampions, and use the hashtag #WSGAMensBestBall to stay connected.