Christian Yanagi of Pullman, Wash., Dane Huddleston of Woodland, Wash. and Max Herendeen of Bellevue, Wash. have been selected to represent Washington Golf in this year’s Morse Cup team competition, which takes place simultaneously with the 57th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship being held July 23-26 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.
The Morse Cup competition takes place during the first two days of the 72-hole stroke-play competition. There are 15 teams in the competition, one from each of the 15 golf associations that make up the Pacific Coast Golf Association. Two of the top three scores from each team in rounds one and two of the championship count for the Morse Cup portion of the event.
WA Golf Morse Cup Team
- Christian Yanagi
- Just completed his fifth year at Washington State University
- Currently ranked No. 276 in WAGR
- Shot 17-under 199 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, setting a record for lowest score-to-par in WSU history
- Named the 2023 WA Golf Men’s Player of the Year
- Named to the WA Golf Morse Cup team at 2023 Pacific Coast Amateur
- Dane Huddleston
- Rising sophomore at Utah Valley University
- Last month won the Washington Men’s Amateur, earning an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Amateur
- Max Herendeen
- Rising sophomore at University of Illinois
- Named Big-10 Freshman of the Year, and unanimous First Team All Big-10
- Currently ranked No. 44 in WAGR
- Won the 2024 NCAA Stanford Regional
- Finished T2 at the 2024 NCAA Championship
The Pacific Coast Amateur is one of seven premier amateur championships that make up the Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS), in which players earn World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points and compete for the Elite Amateur Cup, with top finishers earning exemptions into USGA Championships, as well as PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events.
The Pacific Coast Amateur remains the West Coast’s elite-level event that is circled on all amateur golf calendars in North America. The championship has regularly received an “A” strength ranking by WAGR, as provided by the R&A and USGA.
About the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in North America. The first championship was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio in 1901. After being played until 1911, The Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club in 1967. Today, 15 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association.
Held on an annual basis since 1967, the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship boasts a rich history of showcasing some of the most talented golfers in the United States and Canada.
Past champions of the Pacific Coast Amateur who have gone on to successful professional careers include PGA Tour winners Billy Mayfair (1987, 1988), Jason Gore (1997), Ben Crane (1998) and Andrew Putnam (2010).