Lightning strikes in PNGA Men’s Amateur Round of 64; brother to square off against brother

Well, well, well…

What did we learn today, at the 118th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur? We learned that golf is a fickle game. And match play is the ficklest of them all, sending the rain upon all who enter.

In today’s Round of 64, rain may have fallen from the sky, but the lightning was provided by Carson Barry of Eagle, Idaho, when the No. 64 seed defeated No. 1 seed RJ Manke in 20 holes.

Barry, who will be a sophomore on the Oregon State University men’s golf team, had barely squeaked into the match-play portion of the championship, surviving a 4-hole 8-for-5 playoff and claiming the final spot despite 3-putting the second hole of playoff when a 2-putt would have secured him a better seed.

Teeing it up against Manke this morning, Barry promptly lost the first hole of the match. “Yeah, I bogeyed the first hole and went 1-down right away,” Barry said, after the match. “But I putted really well the rest of the way.”

Indeed he did. Manke, playing on his home course of Tacoma Country and Golf Club, had to eagle the par-5 18th hole to win the hole and extend the match. On the first playoff hole, Barry drained a side-hill 25-footer for birdie, but Manke dropped a 10-foot bird on top of it to keep the match going. Then on the second extra hole, a short par-4, Barry dropped a 32-foot bomb to win the hole and the match.

Last month, Manke lapped the field in winning the Mexican Amateur by nine shots. He is the reigning Washington State Amateur champion. But Barry is no slouch, making it to the semifinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Sam Tidd, who also made it into match play this week). Barry is a two-time Idaho 5A High School individual champion.

Barry was 2-up at one point, but Manke rallied. “RJ is a great player, and we went back and forth all day,” Barry said. “His eagle on 18 was awesome. I didn’t think I’d be here at all (in match play), so this all feels great.”

Meanwhile, No. 30 seed Michael Crisologo of Richmond, B.C. won his match against No. 35 seed Grant Cole of Pullman, Wash., outlasting him in 20 holes. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that Michael must now face his older brother Chris, who put his stamp on the stroke-play qualifying by earning the No. 3 seed and easily winning his Round of 64 match today against No. 62 seed Liam Clancy of Park City, Utah.

The younger Crisologo is following in his brother’s footsteps as he begins playing for Simon Fraser University in the fall, Chris’ alma mater. Chris is a member of the Canadian National Team, and last year was named the PNGA Player of the Year.

Michael has slowly been building his own resume, earlier this year winning the Future Links Pacific Championship.

“I’ve had the chance to play here (at Tacoma) a few times before, so hopefully my experience will give me an advantage over him,” said Chris with a laugh.

“I don’t think my chances are too good tomorrow,” Michael said, drawing another laugh from Chris. “We play friendly matches all the time at our home course of Marine Drive (in Vancouver, B.C.), so I don’t know, hopefully I can get something going tomorrow. We’ll see.”

The two brothers will square off against each other tomorrow morning in the Round of 32, teeing off at 9:06am.

Among others also advancing to tomorrow’s Round of 32 are:

• Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash., who also survived an 8-man playoff just to make it into match play with a No. 61 seed. He defeated No. 4 seed Jared Beals of Enumclaw, Wash., 4&2. Highsmith is competing on his home course of Tacoma C&GC. Last week he won the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship.
• Former University of Arizona golfer Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho, who was the PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year for four consecutive years (2015-18). Last month he won the Oregon Open Invitational, competing against the region’s PGA Professionals. Hatley, the No. 36 seed, defeated No. 29 seed Brody Marconi of Portland, 3&2.
• Shawn Lu of Honolulu, who is a senior on the Oregon State University men’s golf team, and qualified for the 2018 U.S. Amateur. He won the 2015 Hawaii State Amateur. Lu, the No. 5 seed, defeated Brody Bonfilio of Boise, Idaho, the No. 60 seed.
• Sam Tidd of Meridian, Idaho, who made it to the semifinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner Barry, is the No. 2 seed and defeated No. 63 seed John Hayes of Issaquah, Wash., 2&1. Tidd is a freshman on the University of Oklahoma men’s golf team.
• Josh Gliege of Meridian, Idaho was the 2015 PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. The No. 20 seed Gliege defeated No. 45 seed Alec Berrey of Corvallis, Ore., 3&1.

The Rounds of 32 and 16 will be held Thursday, July 11, and the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday, July 12, with the championship match on Saturday, July 13. Each match will be contested over 18 holes, with the exception of the final match, which will be played over 36 holes.

Championship Links:

• Results – Click here
• Pairings/Tee Times – Click here
• Photos – Click here

To stay connected on social media, follow @PNGALIVE on Twitter and use the hashtag #PNGAMensAm. Admission to watch the championship is free, and gallery is encouraged to walk the fairways to follow the matches.