The Washington State Golf Association will be represented by the three-man team of Blake Snyder of Seattle, Frank Garber of Kirkland, Wash. and Dominick Francks of Olympia, Wash. in the Morse Cup team competition of the 47th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, being held July 23-26 at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C.
Of the 84 players competing in individual competition of the championship, 45 will come from the 15 golf associations that make up the Pacific Coast Golf Association, which administers the championship. Each golf association will field a three-man team which competes in the annual Morse Cup competition held concurrently with the first two stroke-play rounds of the event. The best two of three scores each day count for the team score. The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) is the defending champion.
Snyder just finished his junior year on the Washington State University golf team, and is having a good summer of competition. In June he finished fifth in the WSGA’s Washington State Amateur, and earlier this month he made it to the Round of 16 at the PNGA Men’s Amateur. Last week he qualified to play in the U.S. Amateur, to be held in August.
Garber is the defending WSGA and WJGA Junior Player of the Year. He is a two-time Washington State 3A boys high school champion, and a two-time WJGA state junior champion.
Francks is a member of the Stanford University golf team, just completing his freshman year. He won the 2012 WIAA 4A state high school golf championship, and was named the state’s high school Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011.
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is a four-day 72-hole competition. This marks the second time that Capilano G&CC has hosted the prestigious event. In 2003, James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C. completed a record-breaking week by winning the 37th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship by 10 shots, becoming the first person from outside the United States to win the championship. Lepp’s four-round total of 68-62-66-67 – 263 shattered the championship record of 270 set by Billy Mayfair in 1988 when it was held at Bear Creek GC in Denver, CO. Lepp’s second-round 62 broke the Capilano G&CC course record by two shots.
Headlining the favorites are defending champion David Fink of Honolulu, Hawaii and member of the Oregon State University golf team. Fink sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the 4th hole of a five-man, sudden-death playoff in last year’s competition to win his first Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, which was held at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. It was the largest playoff in the championship’s history.
Other notable contestants to keep an eye on are Zac Blair of Ogden, Utah, who recently finished tied for 2nd in a strong field at the Sahalee Players Championship. Ogden, a member of the Brigham Young University golf team, is currently ranked 46th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Another notable player is Eric Sugimoto of San Diego, Calif. Sugimoto, a junior on University of Pacific golf team, is the 2013 Big West Conference Champion and just this week shot a 63 in the stroke-play qualifying round at the U.S. Men’s Amateur Public Links Championship, tying the record for the lowest round in APL stroke-play qualifying history.
Others in the field include Nick Chianello of Gresham, Ore., 2012 and 2013 Oregon Amateur champion; Charlie Hughes, 2013 BC Amateur Champion; Xander Schauffele of San Diego, Calif., 2013 Southern California Amateur runner-up; and Tyler Raber of El Macero, Calif., the 2012 Trans-Mississippi Amateur champion.
For a complete list of players and to follow along with live scoring, visit www.pacificcoastamateur.com. The first round will begin on Tuesday, July 23 with a 7:30 a.m. start from the No. 1 tee.
About the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
Although its present history dates only from 1967, the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship’s roots make it one of the oldest amateur golf championships in American history.
The first tournament was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio, April 24-27, 1901. Championships were held annually through 1911, all being conducted in California except for the 1909 championship, which was held at Seattle Golf Club in Washington.
The Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club on August 10-12, 1967 with the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Oregon and Arizona golf associations participating. Today, 16 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association.
About Capilano Golf and Country Club
Located on Vancouver’s scenic North Shore with spectacular views of the rugged mountains to the north and the ocean to the south and just minutes from the vibrant heart of the city. Developed by the British Pacific Properties company and designed by the famous golf course architect Stanley Thompson, Capilano G&CC opened for play in 1938. Capilano G&CC is rich in history, tradition and values, all of which form the foundation of the club as you will find it today.