Blaine, Wash. – Jonny Larson of Bellingham, Wash., shot rounds of 66-71-71 to go wire-to-wire in winning the 16th Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur, held this week at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club in Blaine, Wash. The three-day, 54-hole stroke-play championship was conducted by WA Golf.
Larson outlasted Jon McCaslin of Olympia, who finished one shot back.
Championship Links:
The two players had made the final round into their own two-horse race, and would be the only players to break par after the three rounds. Spencer Ellis of Wenatchee, Wash., the 2023 champion, finished third at even par, eight shots back of Larson.
Larson had started today’s final round with a six-shot lead over McCaslin and Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho. The three players were paired together in the final group.
After eight holes, Larson still had his six-shot, but on the par-5 ninth, he put his tee shot out of bounds. He managed to salvage a bogey with his second ball despite the penalty, but McCaslin birdied the hole to cut the lead to four.
McCaslin then caught fire, with four more consecutive birdies on holes 10 though 13, cutting Larson’s lead down to one.
“I knew where I stood against Jon,” Larson said. “It was great playing with him today, and we could keep an eye on each other.”
On the par-4 14th, Larson hit what he would later call the shot of the championship. He hit a gap wedge from 152 yards, with the ball stopping three feet from the hole. His birdie stopped McCaslin’s momentum.
“He was really starting to play well, and I had to hit a shot when it mattered,” Larson said. “If I continued to play solid golf, it would put the pressure back on him.”
McCaslin said, “I’d never played this course before, but it sets up perfectly for my cut fade. I didn’t hit a single driver in the first round because I just didn’t know the course. But today I was going for it.” McCaslin had won the 2019 PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur, and earlier this year won the Washington Men’s Champion of Champions, which he had also won in 2018.
Larson birdied the par-4 16th to increase his lead to two, and then played conservatively on the par-5 17th, laying up for an easy par. McCaslin, however, went for the green in two on this hole which he had eagled in the second round. His two-putt birdie cut Larson’s lead back to one as they stood on the 18th tee. They both parred the 18th, and Larson had the title.
Larson had, Jackson, his best friend and former teammate at Skagit Valley College, as his caddie for the week. “Jackson lives just off the first hole, here at Semiahmoo,” Larson said. “I’ve played here before, but he really knows the course. It was great to have him on the bag, and to share this win with him.”
Two weeks ago, Larson won the Seattle Amateur, and last week competed in the PNGA Men’s Amateur, making the round of 32. He will compete in this week’s Bellevue Amateur and next month at the PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur, which will be held at Apple Tree Resort in Yakima, Wash.
Larson attended Bellingham High School, and played on the men’s golf team at Skagit Valley College. He then transferred to Washington State University and was going to play on their team, but COVID hit, and he also had surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL and torn meniscus. So he left school for while, went to work, returned to the game after a while, and two years later enrolled at The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, Calif. He was named the 2024 GSAC Player of the Year. He just graduated this past spring, at age 26, and with him being eligible to compete in mid-amateur competitions.
Larson is intending to turn professional in October, and will try his game at Qualifying School for the Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental circuit of the PGA TOUR.
To be eligible, contestants must have been 25 years of age or older by July 21, 2025. Competitors must have an active GHIN number and USGA Handicap Index issued by a WA Golf member club not exceeding 9.9 at the time of entry.
The Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur is one of 14 championships held annually by WA Golf.