Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho defeated John Sand of Hoquaim, Wash. in a playoff to win the 93rd Washington State Men’s Amateur Championship, held this week on the par-70 Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash.
Championship Links
Final Results |
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Complete Information On the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, Hatley made an 80-foot eagle putt from off the green that hit the flagstick before dropping into the hole and giving him the victory.
Click here for a live video of the playoff. Hatley had begun today’s final round in fifth place, three shots behind Sand, but immediately forced himself into the hunt with two quick birdies on holes three and six, and then three birdies in row, on holes 10, 11 and 12. Hatley, 38, was named the WSGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year the past four years. Earlier this summer he won the Oregon Open Invitational, playing against the region’s PGA professionals. Hatley has twice won the Washington State Mid-Amateur Championship, in 2016 and 2018.
Hatley hits his tee shot on the 16th hole at Palouse Ridge.
Sand began today’s final round at the top of the leaderboard, with a three-shot lead over Hatley. Sand birdied the par-5 18th to force the playoff with Hatley. Sand will be a junior in the fall on the University of Denver’s men’s golf team. He was a four-time 1A league Most Valuable Player while playing for the Hoquiam High School boy’s golf team. “I love being in contention with 9-holes to play, that’s always my goal,” said Hatley. “I just kinda stayed patient, missed a few short ones coming down, but made a really good birdie on 17 to give myself a one-shot lead. I knew with 18 being a par-5 and these guys’ lengths, I was probably gonna be in a playoff.” “Anytime you can compete against the best players in the area and come out on top, that’s an accomplishment in itself.”
Click here to view the full video interview with Reid Hatley. Chase Carlson (Tacoma) finished third, one shot out of the playoff. He will be a junior in the fall, playing for the men’s golf team at Colorado Christian University, and was trying for his second title in this championship, having won it in 2016. Finishing fourth was Eric Hagen (Olympia), who was the first-round leader. Hagen and Sand are teammates on the University of Denver men’s golf team. The championship consisted of 54 holes of stroke play. The initial field of 120 players was cut to the low 60 players and ties for today’s final round. The three-day championship was conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA). The state’s premier men’s amateur championship is a counting event toward the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Past champions of the Washington State Amateur include Fred Couples, Alex Prugh, Brock Mackenzie, Chris Williams, Kermit Zarley, John Bodenhamer, and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers Al Mengert, Bud Ward, Jack Westland and Harry Givan, among many others. 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 United States Golf Association (USGA) and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game.
WSGA Volunteer Ron Nelson gets players ready to go as the first tee starter this morning at the #WSGAMensAm.
Special thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work this week and all season long!
pic.twitter.com/dNTqQQxfrw — Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) (@theWSGA)
August 8, 2019
With temps touching 90°+ today at @PalouseRidge, the bucket hat brigade is out in force for the final round of the #WSGAMensAm.
