Tyler Salsbury of Enumclaw, Wash. followed up yesterday’s 3-under par 68 with a 1-under par 71 in today’s second to take sole possession of the lead going into tomorrow’s final round of the 88th Washington State Amateur. The championship is being held at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Wash., and is conducted by the Washington State Golf Association.
Salsbury, who will be a junior on the men’s golf team at the University of Washington, had a wild second round of five birdies against two bogeys and a double-bogey. He began the day two shots behind Cole Lorenzo of Richland, Wash. who struggled to a 4-over par 75 after yesterday’s 5-under par 66, the low round of the championship so far. Lorenzo now sits tied for third, three shots behind Salsbury.
The three-day championship consists of 54 holes of stroke play, and the field has been cut to the low 60 scores for tomorrow’s final round.
Also tied for third is Tyler Daniels of Walla Walla, Wash. Daniels is the superintendent at Wine Valley, and before his tee time today he was on a backhoe, digging a new fire pit at the club’s reception area.
Sitting four shots behind Salsbury is Joe Lanza of Poulsbo, Wash. Lanza won this championship in 2004, after which he turned professional, spending time playing on the PGA Tour before regaining his amateur status. Tied for seventh with Lanza is Frank Garber, the reigning PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year.
The first tee time in tomorrow’s second round is 7:30 a.m., and the leaders will tee off at 10:40 a.m.
The state’s premier amateur championship traditionally attracts the region’s finest players. Last year, Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash. dominated the field in winning by five shots, with the championship being held at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Peck would also win last summer’s Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur and be named the 2013 WSGA Men’s Player of the Year. Two years ago, Chris Williams won by 10 strokes on the Eagles Pride Golf Course at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Williams, from Moscow, Idaho, starred on the University of Washington men’s golf team, ascending to be the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world.
Past champions of the Washington State Amateur include Fred Couples, Alex Prugh, Brock Mackenzie, Kermit Zarley, John Bodenhamer, and PNGA Hall of Famers Al Mengert, Bud Ward, Jack Westland and Harry Givan, among many others.
Opened in 2009 and designed by Portland native Dan Hixson, Wine Valley Golf Club has already been the site of numerous regional championships, including the 2012 Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur, the 2013 Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur, and in recent years has become home of the annual Northwest Open Invitational, which will be held there again August 19-21.