The Washington State Golf Association announces the start of the 5th Washington State Men's Mid-Amateur and Women's Mid-Amateur Championships, which will be held at the RMG Club at Oakbrook in Lakewood, Wash. on August 20-21, 2014. The two championships are separate events but will run concurrently, and both are 36-hole individual stroke play competitions. They are being conducted by the Washington State Golf Association.
Notables in the field of the Men's Mid-Amateur include the marquee group of defending champion Bjorn Bjorke of Port Orchard, Wash.; Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. who won this championship in 2012; and Mike Haack of Bellevue, who won in 2010. Brandes was runner-up to Bjorke in last year's championship and was named the 2013 WSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year, while Haack was named the 2013 WSGA Men's Mid-Amateur Player of the Year. Their tee time for the first round is set for 8:00 a.m.
Others to watch for are Craig Larson of Tacoma, who earlier this month was the qualifying medalist for the U.S. Mid-Amateur, which will be held in September; and Tom Hale of Lakewood, Wash., who qualified for the 2013 U.S. Senior Open.
In the Women's Mid-Amateur, Leslie Folsom of Tukwila, Wash. will be trying for a three-peat, having won this championship in 2012 and 2013. Folsom is also the two-time reigning WSGA Women's Mid-Amateur Player of the Year. She will be playing the marquee group in the championship's first round that includes Denise Kieffer of University Place, Wash. and Shawn Farmer of Bellevue, with all three players having been selected to represent Washington in the 2013 USGA Women's State Team Championship last fall. The trio will tee off in the first round at 12:10 p.m.
Folsom will be facing a strong field this year, led by Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame member Ann Swanson of Bellevue, Wash. whose list of accomplishments includes playing in the U.S. Women's Open three times and winning the WSWGA Amateur a record nine times. Another name to watch for is Yasue Alkins of DuPont, Wash. who had been named the 2012 WSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year.
Entries for the 2014 Washington State Men's and Women's Mid-Amateur Championships were open to players who have reached their 25th birthday by August 20, 2014, who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 16.4 for men and 24.4 for women, and are members in good standing of a WSGA member club, whether public or private. Champions of these two events earn an exemption into the 6th Annual WSGA Champion of Champions, which will be held at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. in April of 2015.
