Woodinville, Wash. – Collin Hodgkinson of Beaverton, Ore. shot rounds of 68-72-73 to claim the title of the 104th Washington Men’s Amateur, held this week at Bear Creek Country Club in Woodinville, Wash.
His 3-under par total was good enough for a 1-shot margin of victory over five players – Guillermo Polo Bodart of Spokane, Jaeger Christian of Enumclaw, Conrad Chisman of Stanwood, Charlie Kern of Seattle, and Dane Huddleston of Woodland, all of whom tied for second at 2-under.
Championship Links:
Hodgkinson, a rising senior on the Oregon State University men’s golf team, had started the day with a 1-shot lead, but struggled on the front nine of today’s final round. With bogeys on four of the first six holes, he had slipped to third place on a tight leaderboard.
“There were some nerves,” he admitted afterward. “I wasn’t committing to my shots, and put myself in some bad spots on the course.”
He birdied the par-5 seventh. “That calmed me down,” said. On the short par-4 dogleg 10th, he pulled out driver, and the lefty pull-hooked it down the right side, with the ball staying in bounds by just a foot. He chipped onto the green and sank the 12-footer for birdie. Another birdie on the par-5 12th put him in the lead.
“All week long I hit driver on 10,” he said, when everyone else in the field was hitting irons off the tee on the tight tree-lined hole. “I wanted to stay aggressive, stay with my game plan.”
Hodgkinson now adds his name to a trophy that includes such Northwest luminaries as Fred Couples, Joe Highsmith, John Bodenhamer, among many others.
“My former teammate (at Oregon State), Sean Kato, used to be a member at Bear Creek, and he told me I should enter this event,” Hodgkinson said, who had his dad, Greg, as his caddie during the championship. “Sean helped me plan on how to attack it.” Kato won the Washington Men’s Amateur in 2020.
With this victory, Hodgkinson has earned an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Amateur, which will be held at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif. on August 11-17.
Hodgkinson won the 2021 PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur, and last year won the Northwest Open Invitational, playing against the region’s club professionals.
On a difficult Bear Creek layout, only seven of the championship’s 123 players finished under par. For today’s final round, the field was cut to the low 60 scores and ties.
Notes:
- Charlie Kern of Seattle finished tied for second. Kern won this championship in 2015, turned pro afterward, and regained his amateur status six months ago.
- Quinn Burwell of Seattle set a new course record at Bear Creek by shooting 7-under par 65 in the first round. Burwell is a rising senior at Roosevelt High School.
- Twins Brad and Ben Mulder of Spokane both made the cut, and both finished tied for 17th. Their mother, Rachelle, took turns caddying for them during the championship.
- Dane Huddleston finished tied for second, one shot back of Hodgkinson. The defending champion, he was attempting to become the first back-to-back champion since Don Scott won the titles in 1968 and 1969.
The Washington Men’s Amateur is the longest-running continuously-held golf championship in the state. Its illustrious history traces the arc and the growth of the state’s golf community. Past champions include Joe Highsmith, RJ Manke, Fred Couples, Joel Dahmen, Alex Prugh, Brock Mackenzie, Kermit Zarley and John Bodenhamer, among many others. Complete information and full list of past champions can be found here.
The Washington Men’s Amateur is one of 14 championships conducted annually by WA Golf.