Ken Tanigawa wins Arizona Amateur

MARICOPA, Ariz. — Ken Tanigawa of Phoenix finished his impressive run at the 91st Arizona Amateur with a 4-and-2 win in Saturday's championship match over Austin Fletcher. Fletcher quickly went up two holes after a birdie at the third but Tanigawa won three of the next four holes and never looked back. He birdied six of his next ten holes, and even threw in an eagle at the par-4 14th for good measure. His sixth birdie of the run, on the par-5 16th, closed out Fletcher and secured the victory for the mid-amateur player from Phoenix. Tanigawa reached the finale by running all over Arizona Christian incoming freshman Dean Harpe in his semifinal match, closing him out 9-and-7. Tanigawa, the 7-seed who reached the quarterfinals during the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur, reached the 18th hole in his opening match back on Wednesday but closed out his opponents well before reaching the final hole in the remaining matches. Fletcher, a Mesa Community College golfer originally from Memphis, Tenn., would have likely faced medalist and No. 1 seed Bryan Hoops in the round of 16 if it were not for Sam Triplett's unlikely 5-and-4 upset in the first round. Fletcher secured a narrow 1-up victory over Triplett before picking up a 4-and-3, as well as a 3-and-2 victory during Friday's matches, including his semifinal matchup with University of Arkansas-Little Rock junior Brady Edwards. Southern Dunes, site of the annual Saguaro Amateur, also plays host to many USGA qualifiers, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur.