PNGA Team Set to Defend Morse Cup Title at Pacific Coast Amateur
The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) will field the same three players in defending its Morse Cup team title at the 47th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, being held July 23-26 at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C.
Returning this year to represent the PNGA are David Fink of Kailu, Hawaii, Carl Jonson of Bainbridge Island, Wash. and Matt Rawitzer of Bellingham, Wash.
Of the 84 players competing in individual competition of the championship, 45 will come from the 15 golf associations that make up the Pacific Coast Golf Association, which administers the championship. Each golf association will field a three-man team which competes in the annual Morse Cup competition held concurrently with the first two stroke-play rounds of the event. The best two of three scores each day count for the team score. The PNGA is the defending champion.
Now heading into his senior year on the Oregon State University golf team, Fink is the defending individual champion of the Pacific Coast Amateur. Last year, Fink sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole of a five-man, sudden-death playoff to win his first Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, which was held at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. It was the largest playoff in the championship’s history.
Jonson will be a junior on the University Nevada-Las Vegas golf team. Earlier this month he was a Semifinalist in the PNGA Men’s Amateur, a championship in which he had finished runner-up last year. He tied for sixth in the 2012 Pacific Coast Amateur.
Rawitzer is a recent graduate of Oregon State University, where he was a strong member of the men’s golf team. Earlier this summer he finish tied for sixth in the WSGA’s Washington State Amateur, and last year lost in the five-man playoff at the 2012 Pacific Coast Amateur, tying for second.
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is a four-day 72-hole competition. This marks the second time that Capilano G&CC has hosted the prestigious event. In 2003, James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C. completed a record-breaking week by winning the 37th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship by 10 shots, becoming the first person from outside the United States to win the championship. Lepp’s four-round total of 68-62-66-67 – 263 shattered the championship record of 270 set by Billy Mayfair in 1988 when it was held at Bear Creek GC in Denver, CO. Lepp’s second-round 62 broke the Capilano G&CC course record by two shots.
Other notable contestants to keep an eye on are Zac Blair of Ogden, Utah, who recently finished tied for 2nd in a strong field at the Sahalee Players Championship. Ogden, a member of the Brigham Young University golf team, is currently ranked 46th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Another notable player is Eric Sugimoto of San Diego, Calif. Sugimoto, a junior on University of Pacific golf team, is the 2013 Big West Conference Champion and just this week shot a 63 in the stroke-play qualifying round at the U.S. Men’s Amateur Public Links Championship, tying the record for the lowest round in APL stroke-play qualifying history.
Others in the field include Nick Chianello of Gresham, Ore., 2012 and 2013 Oregon Amateur champion; Charlie Hughes, 2013 BC Amateur Champion; Xander Schauffele of San Diego, Calif., 2013 Southern California Amateur runner-up; and Tyler Raber of El Macero, Calif., the 2012 Trans-Mississippi Amateur champion.
For a complete list of players and to follow along with live scoring, visit www.pacificcoastamateur.com. The first round will begin on Tuesday, July 23 with a 7:30 a.m. start from the No. 1 tee.
About the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
Although its present history dates only from 1967, the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship’s roots make it one of the oldest amateur golf championships in American history.
The first tournament was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio, April 24-27, 1901. Championships were held annually through 1911, all being conducted in California except for the 1909 championship, which was held at Seattle Golf Club in Washington.
The Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club on August 10-12, 1967 with the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Oregon and Arizona golf associations participating. Today, 16 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association.
About Capilano Golf and Country Club
Located on Vancouver’s scenic North Shore with spectacular views of the rugged mountains to the north and the ocean to the south and just minutes from the vibrant heart of the city. Developed by the British Pacific Properties company and designed by the famous golf course architect Stanley Thompson, Capilano G&CC opened for play in 1938. Capilano G&CC is rich in history, tradition and values, all of which form the foundation of the club as you will find it today.
