Dana Christianson Wins Pacific Northwest Master-40 Amateur
Dana Christianson of Tacoma, Wash. outlasted Brooks Lancaster of Kaleden, B.C. in the final match to win the 41st Pacific Northwest Master-40 Amateur Championship, held this week on the Mountain course at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C.
The championship, which was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA), consisted of the top male amateur golfers in the Pacific Northwest over the age of 40.
Christianson, who made it to the finals in the 2011 Master-40 before finishing runner-up, never trailed in today’s match, and was 5-up with five holes to play before closing out the match on the 15th hole, 5 and 3. This is his first PNGA championship title.
Seeded ninth entering the match-play format, Christianson got his game going early in his matches. “In the qualifying round I hit the ball well but putted terrible,” he said. “So I was glad to get in (the bracket), and then I hit the ball really good during every match.”
In yesterday morning’s quarterfinal match, Christianson defeated No. 1 seed Craig Larson, also of Tacoma. “Yes, Craig was solid,” he said. “He made just a few mistakes, and I kept hitting the greens and kept the pressure on him.”
Then in the semifinal match, Christianson defeated defending champion Erik Hanson of Kirkland, Wash., 3 and 2. Hanson is a three-time winner of this championship, having won in 2007, 2010 and 2015. “I putted good against Erik in the semifinal, which is good because I needed to. This match was a lot of fun for me. I knew going into the match that Erik is really good of course. I found something on the putting green about 10 minutes before we teed off, and I was able to carry that into the match and make a few putts.”
For complete final results, including hole-by-hole results of all matches, visit this page.
The Pacific Northwest Master-40 is one of 15 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.