In 2026, the Washington Men’s and Senior Men’s Four-Ball Championships will be conducted on the state’s eastern side for the second straight year.
Lakeview Golf & Country Club in Soap Lake will host both championships, to be held concurrently on May 21-22, 2026. This marks the first time Lakeview will have hosted a WA Golf state championship.
Reid Hatley and Nate Plaster will enter as defending champions, having won last year’s title at Canyon Lakes Golf Course in Kennewick, Wash. Mike Kennedy and Neil MacLeod are the reigning senior men’s champions.
Lakeview is a semi-private golf course that has undergone some recent renovation projects, including all-new teeing areas and a new fleet of carts. It plays to a par of 71 and measures over 7,000 yards at its longest.
Next year’s Four-Balls certainly won’t be Lakeview’s first competitive outings. The course has been a familiar stop for WJGA events, having hosted WJGA State Championships on multiple occasions, as well as the 2024 Joel Dahmen Invitational. In 2024, it was the site of the Logger Shootout collegiate tournament, as well as the Desert Classic Open (formerly Lilac Tournament). In addition to the Washington Men’s Four-Balls, Lakeview will also host the WJGA Cup in 2026.
“We are always looking to expand and add value to our members and golf community,” said Lakeview’s owner, Dave Pruitte. “We are extremely excited and honored to be able to host and continue the great success that WA Golf has strived to give our state.”
Lakeview’s surrounding town, Soap Lake, is situated in the state’s central region, some 20 miles north of the larger town of Moses Lake. The former is named for its eponymous mineral-rich body of water, which has long been a tourist attraction due to its supposed healing qualities.
Pruitte, who has owned Lakeview since 2013, says its layout can be devious. In addition to its immense length, the course’s challenge includes narrow fairways and strategically placed bunkers. Its greens, always kept in pristine condition, can sometimes have a Stimp reading of 14 or higher.
“The beauty of Lakeview is it has something for all styles and levels of golfers,” Pruitte explained. “Playing for family fun around 5,500 yards, or a true championship test at over 7,000 yards.”
The Washington Men’s and Senior Men’s Four-Ball – team championships by definition –bring together some of the top male amateur golfers from Washington and Northern Idaho to compete over a 36-hole Four-Ball stroke play competition. In addition to Hatley and Plaster, recent champions include the pairs of:
- Nick Palewicz and Ethan Potts
- Hatley and Jacob Koppenberg
- Paul Mitzel and Johnny Carey
The championships are two of 14 conducted annually by WA Golf.