Hanson wins Washington Senior Men’s Amateur; McNelis captures Super Senior

Orondo, Wash. – Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash. shot rounds of 74-71-73 to win the 36th Washington Senior Men’s Amateur Championship; while Jim McNelis of Gig Harbor, Wash. fired rounds of 72-72-81 to win the 15th Washington Super Senior Men’s Amateur.

Championship links:

Both 54-hole championships were held this week, September 20-22, at Desert Canyon Golf Resort in Orondo, Wash., and were conducted by Washington Golf.

Erik Hanson

Hanson entered the day in second place, one shot off the lead, and he fired the low round of the day, a 1-over par 73, to comfortably take home the title. He won by five shots over Nate Hair of Spokane and Todd Tibke of Snohomish who both finished in a tie for second place.

This is the second individual state title for Hanson who won the 2019 Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur. Earlier this year, Hanson won the PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur.

Watch the full post-round interview with Hanson.

Jim McNelis

In the Super Senior, McNelis had entered the day with a three shot lead and his round of 9-over par 81 in today’s final round was proved good enough as he coasted to a six shot victory over second place finisher David Talcott of Milton.

“It was a tough fight coming in today with the wind,” said McNelis, “luckily, I had a little pad starting the day, so I was able to get it done.”

This is the second individual state title for McNelis who won the 2017 Washington Senior Men’s Amateur. In 2019, he and partner Karl Smith combined to win the Washington Senior Men’s Four-Ball.

“Anytime you can get an individual title, you feel good about it,” said McNelis.

Watch the full post-round interview with McNelis.

To be eligible, contestants in the Senior Men’s Amateur must have been 55 years of age or older by September 20, 2022, while contestants in the Super Senior Men’s Amateur must have been age 65 by that same date. All competitors must have had an active GHIN number and USGA Handicap Index issued by a WA Golf member club not exceeding 12.4 at the time of entry.