Paul Hogben repeats in Washington Senior Men’s Amateur; Bob Johnson conquers Super Senior
Olympia, Wash. - Paul Hogben shot a final-round 73 to earn a second consecutive Washington Senior Men’s Amateur title in the 40th running, while Bob Johnson of Vacaville, Calif. shot a final-round 75 to claim the 19th Washington Super Senior Men’s Amateur. Both championships were held concurrently from June 2-4, 2026, at Olympia Country & Golf Club in Olympia, Wash.
Compared to those of the previous two rounds, Thursday’s conditions were more neutral, with moderate temperatures and winds under partly cloudy skies.
Championship Links:
Needing to make up two strokes on Mike Swingle, who held the 36-hole lead, Hogben essentially played even par golf to do so. He birdied the sixth and then made pars until the 16th and 17th holes, both of which he bogeyed. Needing a par on No. 18 to finish at 1-over, Hogben delivered via two clutch putts while Swingle finished a 5-over round of 77. The win is his second in this championship, one year after winning the 2025 championship in a playoff with a hole-in-one.
“Today was just an absolute grind,” Hogben said of this year’s effort, at a course he has previously enjoyed. “Really happy to get it done. Played with a lot of good people.”
Mike Kennedy (North Vancouver, B.C.), winner of the 2026 Senior Men’s Champion of Champions, nearly posted the would-be playoff number. Playing one group ahead of Hogben, Kennedy’s golf was also even for most of the day, though with four of both birdies and bogeys. On his 54th hole, Kennedy had a long birdie putt from right up against the fringe on the green’s left side but just missed it just slightly above and long. He couldn’t save par on the ensuing putt and posted 2-over, good enough for second alone.
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Bob Johnson
Earlier, in the Super Senior, Johnson’s win marked his first WA Golf Championship. He entered the final round tied at 1-over par with David Farnam (Bremerton, Wash.) and carefully made his way through his opening nine holes cleanly, with one birdie and no bogeys. His back side wasn’t quite as smooth, as he carded double bogeys on the 11th and 14th holes. One more bogey on the extreme downhill 18th landed Johnson with his 75, but a 79 from Farnam gave Johnson enough leeway to maintain the top spot.
Johnson is a full-time California resident. Family members of his wife live in Washington, and the couple had embarked on a traveling tour through the state that intersected with the Super Senior Amateur.
“It’s been a wonderful, wonderful trip,” Johnson said. “My wife said, ‘Hey, is there a tournament going on?’ So, I looked on the website, saw that there was and called WA Golf.”
Continues Johnson, who usually plays in Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) events, “It’s actually my first championship. It’s very satisfying.”
Three strokes behind Johnson in a tie for second sat Jim McNelis (Gig Harbor) and Mike Williams (Olympia), who respectively fired under-par rounds of 70 and 71 to earn co-runners-up. McNelis won the 2017 Senior and 2022 Super Senior iterations of these championships.
The Washington Senior and Super Senior Championships are two of 14 held annually by WA Golf.
