Drew Warford Medals at U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier at Gold Mountain

Drew Warford of Snoqualmie, Wash. shot 2-under-par 70 to earn medalist honors in leading the field of 83 players who competed today in U.S. Junior Amateur Championship sectional qualifying on the par-72 Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.

The two other players to advance from this qualifier are Ilirian Zalli of Vancouver, B.C. and Nathan Cogswell of Kent, Wash. Both players shot 1-under 71, one shot back of Warford, and survived a four-way playoff to secure the final two available spots from this qualifier.

John Hayes of Sammamish, Wash. and Michael Crisologo of Richmond, B.C. lost out in the playoff, and are now the first and second alternates, respectively.

Warford, Zalli and Cogswell now advance to compete in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, which will be held July 16-21 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

Click here for complete hole-by-hole scores of all players.

Warford won the 2017 PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur, as well as the 2017 Washington Junior State Championship in the 14-15 age division. He will be a junior at Mount Si High School in North Bend, Wash., and plays on the school’s golf team. He learned the game from his father Chad, who played on the University of Washington men’s golf team.

Zalli, 16, won the 2017 BC Junior Boys’ Amateur, and the previous year had won the BC Bantam Boys’ Championship.

Cogswell just graduated from Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., where he was First Team All-League all four years on the boys’ golf team. In the fall, he will attend Seattle University and play on the men’s golf team.

The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

The U.S. Junior Amateur is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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 USGA and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.