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Knoll Comes From Behind to Win 50th Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship; Maletis Takes Super Senior Title

Jim Knoll of Sunnyvale, Calif. shot a final round 6-under par 66 to come from behind to win the 50th Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur, while Chris Maletis of Portland, Ore. cruised to a three stroke victory in the 5th Pacific Northwest Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championship.

Jim Knoll, winner of the 2014 PNGA Senior Men's Amateur Championship
Jim Knoll, winner of the 2014 PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur Championship

Both championships were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, and were held concurrently at Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte, Ore.

Knoll started the day one shot behind Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. The two were paired together in the final group, and Brandes was attempting the win this championship for the third consecutive year. Both players shot par on the par-5 first hole, but Knoll birdied holes two and three and never looked back. He had seven birdies on the day, with a lone bogey coming on the long downhill par-3 17th hole, and finished two shots clear of Brandes, who shot a bogey-free 3-under par 69.

“It was my first time here,” said Knoll. “By today’s (final) round, I was feeling more comfortable with the course. Yes, I was able to sink some putts today, but more than that I was able to place my shots on the fairway better, to put myself into better position. It’s a beautiful golf course, and I obviously played it okay.”

Knoll’s 66 was the low round of the championship. View his post-round interview here.

Chris Maletis, winner of the 2014 PNGA Super Senior Men's Amateur Championship
Chris Maletis, winner of the 2014 PNGA Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championship

Maletis has won the Senior Amateur three times (2007, 2009, 2010), and this year competed in the Super Senior Championship, immediately putting himself in the driver’s seat with a 5-under par 67 in the opening round. His subsequent rounds of 70-71 put him three shots ahead of second-place finisher Gay Davis of Portland. Davis, one of the founders of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore., and also a good friend of Maletis, had won this championship in 2012, but couldn’t make up enough ground despite a solid 2-under par 70 in today’s final round.

“I played here (at Brasada Ranch) last year in the Oregon Senior Open and I think that helped me do well here this week,” Maletis said. “To have my name on a PNGA trophy means a lot, especially with all the other great names on these trophies, and the PNGA does such great things for golf in the Northwest. I could have competed in the Senior Amateur (this week), but I wanted to try for a trophy in a new category that I was eligible for.” Maletis has also won the Pacific Northwest Master-40 Championship (in 2008).

Maletis, who co-owns Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore., was under par in three of his rounds. View his post-round interview here.

Past champions of the Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur include many members of the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame, including Carl Jonson, Kent Myers, Dr. John Harbottle, George Holland, Ken Forster and Erv Parent.

Brasada Canyons, the course at Brasada Ranch, was designed by PGA and Champions Tour player Peter Jacobsen, a Portland native, and his co-designer Jim Hardy. Last year the course hosted the Pacific Northwest Master-40 Championship. Visit www.brasada.com for more information.

The Pacific Northwest Senior and Super Senior Men’s Championships are two of 15 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.