Bjorn Bjorke of Port Orchard, Wash. shot rounds of 72-70 to win the 11th Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, held this week at McCormick Woods Golf Club in Port Orchard.
Championship links:
This is the second title in this championship for Bjorke, who also won it in 2013.
Bjorke is the general manager of McCormick Woods, and a little home cooking seemed to help his game. He began today’s final round just one shot behind the leaders, but quickly found himself fading from contention with a bogey on the second hole and double-bogey on the fifth. But he chipped in for an eagle 3 on the par-5 ninth to re-energize his round, and then he went 3-under on the back nine, stringing together three consecutive birdies on holes 11, 12 and 13.
“It feels great to win this title,” Bjorke said afterward. “This is my second title, and this feels great to win it on my home golf course.”
Of his stretch of holes in the middle of the round in which he went 5-under par between holes nine and 13, Bjorke said, “Yes, that was definitely a good stretch. That set me up. It’s hard to win this championship the first time, but even harder to win it the second time. And it was harder out there today to think about winning it my own golf course. That was satisfying.”
Click here to watch Bjorke’s post-round interview.
Finishing tied for second, one shot back of Bjorke, were Luke Bakke of Sammamish and Carl Jonson of Seattle.
Bakke had started the day two shots out of the lead, but vaulted into the conversation with an eagle 3 on the par-5 13th. He also birdied the par-5 18th, claiming a tie for second.
Jonson had started today’s final round tied for the lead with Erik Hanson of Kirkland, with both players sitting at 1-under par. Jonson had been staying at the top of the leaderboard early, but bogeyed four out five holes in the middle of the round. He finished strong, with birdies on 14, 17 and 18, to tie Bakke for second. Jonson played his collegiate golf at UNLV. He turned professional after college, but just recently got his amateur status back.
Hanson won this championship last year, and looked poised to successfully defend his title. He had a three-shot lead with nine holes to go, but had a tough stretch on the back nine, going 5-over par on holes 10 through 15. He finished in fourth place, four shots back of Bjorke. Along with last year’s title, Hanson finished second in 2010 and 2015.
McCormick Woods played difficult for the best mid-amateur players in the state, with only Bjorke, Bakke and Jonson finishing under par, out of a field of 119 players.
Click here for full details on the championship.
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To be eligible for the 2020 Washington Mid-Amateur Championship, contestants must have been 25 years of age or older by August 27. Competitors must also have an active GHIN number and USGA Handicap Index issued by a WA Golf member club not exceeding 9.9 at the time of entry.
Founded in 1922, WA Golf is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving over 70,000 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. 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.
