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Brandes Wins 48th PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur
Cle Elum, Wash. (June 15,2012) – Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. made a final round charge at Rope Rider to overtake defending champion Larry Daniels of Seattle, Wash. and outlast Kent Brown of Colville, Wash. to claim the 48th Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship held at Rope Rider and Tumble Creek Club at Suncadia Resort.
Brandes started the day three shots back of Daniels, but started strong and immediately shifted the momentum in his favor with a birdie on the par-5 1st hole. The birdie was the first of five on the day for Brandes, who found himself alone in first place after a flawless 3-under 33 on the front nine. Daniels kept the pressure on with back-to-back birdies on 5 and 6 but a double bogey on the 9th hole catapulted Brandes into the lead, a lead that he would not relinquish the rest of the way en route to a 2-under 70 in the final round, a three day total of 7-over 222, and a two shot victory over Brown.
“I had Larry (Daniels) on my radar. After the birdie on the first hole, I did not do much until the par on 9 and he made double bogey,” said Brandes, about the battle in the final group. “From then on I chipped away and got a little lead. I did not know how everyone else was doing though,” he continued. “Thankfully I figured the greens out a little bit today and putted better.”
Brown, the champion in 2005, played in the second to last group and pulled even with Brandes late in the day when he birdied the par-3 16th hole. But Brandes responded with a birdie of his own on the par-5 17th and a bogey by Brown on the 18th hole sealed the victory for Brandes. Brown ended the week in sole possession of second place with a three day total of 9-over 224. Daniels finished five shots off the lead and in a tie for third at 12-over 227 with Keith Crimp of Ellensburg, Wash. and Richard Jonson of Seattle, Wash.
