The first rounds of the 6th Washington State Men's Mid-Amateur and Women's Mid-Amateur Championships begin today at Fairwood Golf & Country Club in Renton, Wash. Both championships are 36-hole stroke play events and are being held concurrently on August 17-18. They are conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA).
Visit www.thewsga.org for tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring for both championships. To stay connected on social media, follow @WSGAChampions on Twitter for live updates and much more, and use the hashtags #WSGAMensMidAm and #WSGAWomensMidAm.
Last year, Tom Hale of Lakewood, Wash. won the Men's Mid-Amateur hosted in a playoff over Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho. Hale chose to lay up on the par-5 second playoff hole and stuck his third shot within four feet and made his birdie after Hatley went for the green in two and made par after finding a greenside bunker.
Shawn Farmer of Bellevue, Wash. won the Women's Mid-Amateur in 2014 with a two-shot lead over Tukwila, Wash.'s Leslie Folsom. Folsom was looking to claim her third-straight victory, but could not overcome an impressive final round from Farmer.
The Men's Mid-Amateur Championship features a strong field which includes the last three champions of the event. Some names to watch out for include last year's champion Tom Hale; the 2013 Mid-Amateur champion Bjorn Bjorke of Port Orchard, Wash.; PNGA Hall of Famer and the 2012 Mid-Amateur champion Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash.; John Bracken of Seattle, Wash., who won the PNGA Senior Men's Amateur Championship in June; and Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., who recently won the Seattle Amateur Championship as well as the 2015 PNGA Men's Master-40 Championship.
The Women's Mid-Amateur Championship will feature last year's champion, Shawn Farmer; two-time Mid-Amateur champion and last year's runner-up, Leslie Folsom of Tukwila, Wash.; PNGA Hall of Famer Alison Murdoch of Victoria, B.C.; and the 2014 WSGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, Amanda Jacobs of Seattle, Wash.
To be eligible, contestants must by 25 years of age or older by August 17. Competitors in the Men's Mid-Amateur must have an active GHIN number and USGA Handicap Index issued by a WSGA member club not exceeding 16.4 at the time of entry, while competitors in the Women's Mid- Amateur must have an active GHIN number and USGA Handicap Index issued by a WSGA member club not exceeding 24.4 at the time of entry.
