Mike Haack pulled off a big win at Sand Pines
PNGA photo
Florence, Oregon (Sept. 15, 2016) -- Mike Haack of
Bellevue, Wash. overcame a shaky second round to
post a solid final round even-par 72 in winning the
32nd Pacific Northwest Men's Mid-Amateur
Championship. This is the second title for Haack,
having also won this championship in 2009.
The 54-hole stroke-play championship was held at
Sandpines Golf Links in Florence, Ore. and was
conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association
(PNGA).
Haack shot a 3-under par 69 in the first round to set
the early pace and jump to the top of the
leaderboard, but a second round of 4-over par 76
that included a double bogey and a quadruple bogey
allowed the field to catch up with him, giving
Seattle's Sean Packer a two-stroke lead going into
today's final round.
Paired together in today's final group, Packer played
the front nine in 1-over, while Haack had two birdies
to make the turn at 2-under for the day. The three-
shot swing allowed Haack to take the overall lead
with nine holes to play. He stumbled a bit, shooting
2-over on the back side, but had enough cushion to
win by two strokes over Packer, Ryan Kelly of Gig
Harbor, Wash. and Luke Wilson of Tacoma, Wash.,
who all tied for second.
"This feels real good," said Haack of his win. "The
PNGA always has a strong field, and there were a lot
of good players here this week to it was nice to have
the opportunity to play well here."
With no player in the field finishing under par, Haack
explained the tough conditions of the course. "With
the wind picking up here, the course really dried out
and the greens were rolling very fast. I was able to
hold out in the last few holes today to hold on. My
attitude today (starting the round two strokes behind
Packer) was just to go play solid. With the windy
conditions, I knew that nobody was going to go low,
so I just wanted to play steady and see what
happens."
Haack was named the Washington State Golf
Association Men's Mid-Amateur Player of the Year in
2013 and 2014.
Kelly shot the only under-par round of the day,
shooting a 2-under par 70 to climb into a tie for
second. Earlier this summer, Kelly, 42, had tied for
fourth in the Washington State Men's Amateur,
competing against the college players. Kelly is the
older brother of PGA TOUR player Troy Kelly. Ryan
caddies for Troy on the tour.
Sandpines Golf Links opened in 1993 and was named
the Best New Public Course in the America for that
year by Golf Digest. The course was designed by
Rees Jones, the noted architect famed for being the
"U.S. Open doctor." Sandpines is professionally
managed by OB Sports.
View results for PNGA Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE PNGA Mid-Amateur
Format: 54-hole Stroke Play Competition (Gross
only). The field will be cut to the low 60 players and
ties for the final round.
Age Limit: Entrants must be 25 years of age or older
by the start of the tournament.
Handicap Limit: Entrants must have a USGA
Handicap Index or Golf Canada Handicap Factor of
8.4 or less.
View Complete Tournament Information