USGA Senior Amateur qualifying is set to commence at Seattle Golf Club on Friday, August 9, as 70 players will look to earn one of the four available spots at this qualifier to advance to the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur Championship. The four players who advance from this qualifier will go on to compete in the 59 ^th USGA Senior Amateur Championship, which will be held Sept. 21-26 at Wade Hampton Golf Club in Cashiers, N.C.

The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducts this qualifier for the USGA Senior Amateur Championship.

Among the names to watch for at Seattle Golf Club is Jim McNelis of Gig Harbor, Wash. who was the medalist in last year’s qualifier, in making it into his fifth USGA national championship. Prior to last year’s USGA Senior Amateur, McNelis had qualified for the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Also in the field are Rick Weihe of Bellingham, Wash. and David Talcott of Milton, Wash., both of whom qualified for last year’s USGA Senior Amateur. Talcott had survived a three-way playoff for the final spot with Larry Gilhuly of Gig Harbor and Michael Jonson of Seattle, both of whom will also be competing in this year’s qualifier. Bruce Richards, who earlier this year was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame, will also be in the field. Richards has qualified for and played in nine USGA national championships.

Qualifying will be played over 18 holes. For tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring, please visit www.thewsga.org.

The USGA Senior Amateur is open to amateurs, age 55 and older, who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 7.4.

Wade Hampton Golf Club was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1987. The course has consistently been ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. by several golf publications, including Golf Digest.

The USGA Senior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.