Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash., fired a two-under-par 69 to take a two-shot lead into the second and final round of the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship.
The Championship, being played concurrently with the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship is hosted by Fairwood Golf and Country Club in Renton, Wash.
Brandes, a member of the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame, and champion of this event in 2012, carded one bogey and three birdies on his way to a spot in the final group on Tuesday.
Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., who recently won the Seattle City Amateur, and the Pacific Northwest Men’s Master-40 Amateur Championship holds second place alone at even-par 71.
Rich Evenson of Mercer Island, Wash. had an up-and-down round, complete with five bogies and four birdies on his way into third place at one-over-par 72, and will join Hanson and Brandes in the final group on Tuesday.
Dan Varelia of Auburn, Wash. and Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho share fourth place at two-over-par 73. Scotty Crouthamel of Renton, Wash., Bjorn Bjorke of Port Orchard, Wash., and Craig Larson of Tacoma, Wash. all begin the final round in a tie for sixth place at three-over-par 74, five behind Brandes.
In the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, Amanda Jacobs of Seattle, Wash., takes a one-shot-lead into the final round after putting up an opening round of seven-over-par 78. Jacobs carded two birdies and was just two-over-par through 12 holes, but made several bogies down the stretch to come back to the field.
Defending champion Shawn Farmer of Bellevue, Wash., enters Tuesday’s final round just one shot back of Jacobs at eight-over-par 79. Farmer also struggled down the stretch after playing well to begin with.
Sharon Falkner of Mercer Island, Wash., and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famer Alison Murdoch of Victoria, B.C. are five off of Jacobs’ pace at 12-over-par 83, while Jeanne Link of Redmond, Wash. is at 13-over-par 84.
Two-time-champion Leslie Folsom of Tukwila, Wash., and Karen Madison of East Wenatchee, Wash., are tied for sixth place after rounds of 15-over-par 85.
The Women’s Mid-Amateur final round tee times will run from 7:30 a.m. to 8:20 a.m., while the Men’s Mid-Amateur tee times run from 8:40 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Visit www.thewsga.org for tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring for both championships. To stay connected on social media, follow @WSGAChampions on Twitter for live updates and much more, and use the hashtags #WSGAMensMidAm and #WSGAWomensMidAm.