Low Scores in Round One of Stroke Play Qualifying for PNGA Men’s Amateur

They came to play.

In today’s first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 118th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship, some of the top names in regional amateur golf muscled their way to the top of the leaderboard.

Three players sit tied at the top, shooting 5-under par 67s at Tacoma Country and Golf Club. Sam Tidd of Meridian, Idaho made it to the semifinals at the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Carson Barry); RJ Manke of Lakewood, Wash. won the Mexican Amateur last month, and last year won the 2018 Washington State Amateur; and Shawn Lu of Honolulu, a senior on the Oregon State University men’s golf team, qualified for the 2018 U.S. Amateur, and won the 2015 Hawaii State Amateur.

Championship Links:

• Live Scoring – Click here
• Pairings/Tee Times – Click here
• Photos – Click here

And they have several players on their tails, in one of the oldest amateur golf championships in North America. Kai Iguchi, who sits just one back of the above trio after shooting 4-under 68 at Chambers Bay, was the 2018 Golfer of the Year in Alberta, and is a member of the Canadian National Team.

Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C., also a member of the Canadian National Team, was named the 2018 PNGA Player of the Year. He is just three shots back of the leaders after firing a 2-under-par 70 at Tacoma.

Joe Highsmith shot 3-under 69 at Chambers Bay. Last week he won the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship. In 2017 he won the Washington State Amateur, and was named the 2017 PNGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. He just finished his freshman year at Pepperdine University, and was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.

The championship consists of 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying held on July 8-9, followed by a cut to the low 64 players who will advance to single-elimination match play. There are 168 players competing for those 64 spots.

The stroke-play qualifying rounds are being held at Tacoma Country and Golf Club and also at Chambers Bay, which is the assisting course for the championship. Each player will play one qualifying round on each course. Once the match-play bracket is determined, all matches will be held at Tacoma Country and Golf Club.

The Round of 64 will be held Wednesday, July 10, followed by the Rounds of 32 and 16 on Thursday, and quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday, 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.

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.

Click here for complete information about this year’s championship.