The 27th Washington State Senior Men's and the 6th Super Senior Men's Amateur Championships are being held this week at Everett (Wash.) Golf and Country Club. The two championships will be held concurrently over 54 holes of stroke play, and are conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA).
Among the players to watch in the Senior Amateur is two-time defending champion Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. Last year, Brandes ran the tables in the region's championships, winning, along with the Senior Amateur, the Washington State Men's Mid-Amateur, the PNGA Men's Mid-Amateur, the PNGA Men's Senior Amateur, and the Washington State Senior Men's Champion of Champions. He is the three-time defending WSGA Men's Senior Player of the Year, and the defending Mid-Amateur Player of the Year. Brandes has already won this year's PNGA Men's Senior Amateur, and last month finished second in the British Senior Amateur held at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland.
Several past champions are also in the field, including 2010 champion Keith Crimp of Ellensburg, Wash. and 2008 Champion Kent Brown of Colville, Wash. Brown was the 2008 WSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year. Bob Burton of Everett, Wash., the 2009 WSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year is also in the field, as is Dave Farnam of Kent, Wash. an 8-time Seattle Amateur champion and who qualified for the 2010 USGA Senior Amateur.
In the Super Senior Men's Amateur Championship, two-time defending champion Ron Petersen of Coquitlam, B.C. returns in search of his third straight title. The Super Senior Men's field includes two-time champion Bruce Richards of Seattle, Wash. (2009, '10), who also won the Washington State Senior Men's Amateur Championship in 2000, and Jeff Remington of Edmonds, Wash., who won the Washington State Senior Men's Amateur Championship in 2003. Also in the field is Bill Yeend of Camano Island, Wash. Yeend was the longtime voice on KOMO Radio news.
For tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring, visit www.thewsga.org.
Amateur golfers who have reached their 55th birthday by September 24, 2013 and who have a USGA Handicap Index of 12.4 strokes or less at a WSGA member club are eligible to play in the Washington State Senior Men's Amateur Championship. To be eligible for the Super Senior Amateur golfers must meet the same handicap requirements and have reached their 65th birthday by September 24, 2013.
The Washington State Senior Men's and Super Senior Men's Amateur Championships are two of 14 state championships conducted annually by the WSGA.
