Jordan Lee to face Alfred Raja in final match at PNGA Men’s Amateur
Sandpoint, Idaho – Jordan Lee of Auburn, Wash. will square off against Alfred Raja of Corvallis, Ore. in the final match of the 119th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship.
The 36-hole final match will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at the Idaho Club in Sandpoint, Idaho beginning at 7:30am.
Championship links:
In this morning’s quarterfinal match the No. 28 seed Lee downed No. 45 seed Blake Wisdom of Lake Geneva, Wis. 3&2. After winning the first two holes of the match, Lee never relinquished the lead.
In the semifinal match this afternoon, Lee defeated No. 16 seed Jose Suryadinata in a tightly contested match by a score of 2&1. Lee jumped out to a 4 up lead after nine holes and held off a strong comeback effort by Suryadinata to advance.
“The first match I played pretty good and smart,” said Lee “the second round, on the front nine, I was hitting it well but the back-nine was more of a grind. It was a lot of fun and I put up a good fight.”
Click here to watch Lee’s post-round interview.
Lee is a rising junior on the Western Washington University Men’s Golf Team. Earlier this month, he placed second in the Washington Men’s Amateur Championship and finished fifth at the Rosauers Open.
Alfred Raja, the No. 30 seed, won his quarterfinal match 2 up this morning over No. 6 seed Ben Warian of Stillwater, Minn. Raja held a 4 up lead after 11 holes and staved off a strong comeback effort by the Minnesota native Warian.
In this afternoon’s semifinal match, Raja downed No. 7 seed John Sand of Hoquiam, Wash. by a score of 1 up in a tightly contested battle. Sand jumped out to an early 2 up lead after six holes before Raja kicked it into high gear and won four of the next five holes to go 1 up. The lead proved to be enough as Sand never won another hole.
“It was a great experience playing two really good players today,” said Raja, “really all I tried to do was be patient, both of my matches went to the 18th hole today and it was nice to see that I could win.”
Click here to watch Raja’s post-round interview.
Raja, originally from Indonesia, is a rising sophomore on the Oregon State University Men’s Golf Team. Earlier this month he made the Round of 16 at the Oregon Amateur.
The PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship is one of 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
About The Idaho Club
Opened in 2008, the course at The Idaho Club is Idaho’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. It is surrounded by picturesque sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest and deepest lake. The Idaho Club is just minutes from the town of Sandpoint, recently rated one of the “Top Ten small towns in the Western U.S.” by Sunset Magazine. Visit theidahoclub.com for more information.
