34th PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Being Held at Crane Creek Country Club
The 34th Pacific Northwest Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship is being held Sept. 5-7 at Crane Creek Country Club in Boise, Idaho. The 54-hole stroke-play championship will be conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Championship links:
Daily recaps will be available on the PNGA website.
Players must be 25 years of age or older by September 5, 2018 and require a USGA Handicap Index or Golf Canada Handicap Factor of 8.4 or lower to be eligible.
In last year’s Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, held at Bend (Ore.) Golf & Country Club, Mike Haack of Bellevue, Wash. successfully defended his title, having also won in 2016. Haack has now won this championship three times, having also won in 2009.
Haack is in the field again this year to try for his third title in a row.
Along with Haack, this year’s strong field includes Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho, who last week won the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur. Hatley has been named the PNGA Mid-Amateur Player of the Year the past three years (2015-17) and last week qualified for the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Earlier this year, he tied for sixth in the Mexican Amateur, and made it to the quarterfinals of the PNGA Men’s Amateur.
Also in the field are Jeff Ward of Bend, who won this championship in 2014; Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., who won this Mid-Amateur title in 2002; Darren Kuhn of Pocatello, Idaho, who earlier this summer won the PNGA Master-40 Amateur; and the 2001 Mid-Amateur champion, Alex Stamey of Mill Creek, Wash.
Crane Creek Country Club has recently completed a multi-phase, multi-million dollar renovation, which included upgrades to its clubhouse, tennis facility, driving range, and significant changes to its golf course, including a completely re-designed back nine. As part of the renovation, undeveloped land was used to create a new par-4 and par-5 on the back nine, and with these two entirely new holes Crane Creek will now play over 7,000 yards and play as a par 72 for the first time. New tee boxes and approach-shot considerations were also added to the back nine makeover, and the greens have also been rebuilt with playability in mind. The 35 newly-designed bunkers will add to the course’s challenge.
Crane Creek has twice hosted the PNGA Cup (2009, 2013). Visit www.cranecreekcountryclub.com for more information.
The PNGA was founded on February 4, 1899. It is a 501c3 charitable, international, amateur golf association dedicated to preserving the true spirit of golf by supporting its allied associations, conducting quality championships, and promoting activities beneficial to golfers in the Pacific Northwest. For more than a century, the Association has been a pioneer in developing competitions and services and its mission has grown and evolved. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly regional organization providing benefits and services to its members and member clubs throughout the Northwest.
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