Walla Walla, Wash. (Friday, August 6, 2010) – The Inaugural WSGA Men’s and Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship got underway today at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Wash. Sean Packer, a 25 year old from Lake Tapps, Wash. led the way in the Men’s Championship after firing a very impressive opening round of 4-under par 68. Packer’s mistake free round included birdies on holes 7,8,9, and 14. Sitting just one shot back after shooting 3-under par 69’s are Mike Haack of Bellevue, Wash., Bob Burton of Everett, Wash., and Michael Kloenne of West Linn, Ore. Most notably, Haack played the front-9 in 5-under par 31 before struggling with just one birdie on the back-9 and three bogeys.
Denise Kieffer from University Place, Wash. leads the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship heading into tomorrow’s final round after an opening score of 5-over par 77. Kieffer, who won the Inaugural WSGA Champion of Champions last fall had three birdies on her card today but was offset with two doubles and four bogeys. In second place, two strokes back is Lisa Smego of Olympia, Wash. who fired a 7-over par 79 today. Ginny Burkey sits alone in third place and will round out the final group tomorrow after a round of 9-over par 81 today.
The championship field features 95 of Washington’s best Mid-Amateur men and 15 mid-amateur women competing for their respective titles. The championship calls for 36 holes of stroke with play commencing each day at 7:30 a.m. from the #1 tee. To be eligible, players must belong to a WSGA Member Club, be at least 25 years of age or older, and carry a 16.4 handicap index or less for men and 24.4 or less for women.
