Garber Grabs Medalist Honors at 59th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur

Frank Garber of Kirkland, Wash. continued his solid play with a 2-under par 69 in the second round of stroke-play qualifying to earn medalist honors at the 59th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship, being held at the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa in Victoria, B.C. Garber had fired a 3-under par 68 in yesterday’s first round. He will be in the No. 1 seed going into tomorrow’s first round of match play.

Garber was the 2012 WSGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year and AAA State High School Champion in Washington, and made the Round of 16 at last year’s Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur.

Andrew Funk of Sidney, B.C. is the only other player to finish the two qualifying rounds at a combined under par, finishing with a two-day total of 1-under par 141.

Drew McCullough of Richland, Wash. had the low round of the day, a 5-under par 66. Yesterday’s round was played on the resort’s Valley course, while today’s round was contested on the Mountain course.

Kevin Vigna, the defending champion from Coquitlam, B.C., tied for 12th. Last week Vigna took individual medalist honors at the 45th Hogan Cup Team Matches, held at Portland’s Riverside Golf and Country Club, in leading Team BC to the title in the team match competition.

The Championship Flight will consist of the 32 lowest scores. Match play will be single elimination 18-hole matches, with the exception of the Final match of the Championship Flight, which will be 36 holes. All matches will be contested on the resort’s Valley course.

This championship is being conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA). This is one of 16 regional championships conducted annually by the PNGA.

The rich history of the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship has included past champions World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples, Web.com Tour player Alex Prugh, and Andrew Yun, who earlier this summer won the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship. When asked for his advice to junior golfers, Couples once said, “To any youngster, I would say hang in there. You are playing the toughest sport there is. The highs and lows of golf are so great because it is an individual sport. Let the good times roll with the bad times.”

Both courses at The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa – the Valley and the Mountain – were designed by Nicklaus Design.