Pullman, Wash. – Joe Highsmith shot rounds of 67-66 today on the par-70 Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash. to earn medalist honors in U.S. Amateur Sectional qualifying. Claiming the other available spot at this qualifier is Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C., who shot rounds of 72-67. Highsmith and Crisologo claimed the only two spots available in this Sectional qualifier, and the two players will now advance to compete in the 2019 U.S. Amateur, to be held August 12-18 at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort and Country Club.
Chris Crisologo and Joe Highsmith
Highsmith continues his summer of excellent play. Earlier this month he won the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship, and last week he made it to the quarterfinals of the Pacific Northwest Amateur. He just finished his freshman year at Pepperdine University, and was recently named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. In 2017 he won the Washington State Amateur, and was named the 2017 PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. Crisologo is a member of the Canadian National Team, and was named the 2018 PNGA Player of the Year. Last week he made it to the Round of 16 at the Pacific Northwest Amateur. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University, where he competed 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. Amateur Championship. In all, there are 96 Sectional qualifiers conducted by Allied Golf Associations between July 1 and July 24.
Click here for complete hole-by-hole scoring of this qualifier. Pinehurst’s Course No. 2 and Course No. 4 will host the stroke-play rounds on Aug. 12-13. After 36 holes, the field will be trimmed from 312 players to 64 for match play. The first five rounds of match play – through the semifinals – will be played on Course No. 2 on Aug. 14-17. The 36-hole championship match will be contested over two courses for the first time. Scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 18, it will open with the morning round on Course No. 4, which was recently redesigned by Gil Hanse. The afternoon round will be played on Course No. 2, the renowned Donald Ross design that was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2011. Founded in 1922, the WSGA is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving nearly 70,000 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.
U.S. Amateur Sectional QualifierPalouse Ridge Golf ClubPullman, Wash.7171 Yards, Par 70
