Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Golf Association
Alfred Raja of Corvallis, Ore. won the 119th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship with a 2&1 victory over
Jordan Lee of Auburn, Wash. in today’s 36-hole final match.
The championship was held at The Idaho Club in Sandpoint, Idaho and was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
The championship began with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on July 26-27, followed by 18-hole single elimination match play July 28-30, concluding with a 36-hole final match on Saturday, July 31.
In this morning’s round, Raja got hot early and jumped out to a quick lead going 2 up through nine and 5 up after the morning 18. The highlight of the morning came on the par-5 ninth hole when Alfred’s third shot landed just behind the pin, spun back and rolled into the hole for an eagle.
In this afternoon’s round, Raja started to show some signs of weakness and Lee began to mount a comeback. Lee won five of the first ten holes this afternoon to cut the deficit to just one. However, the valiant effort came up just short as Raja won three of the last six holes to hold onto the victory.
“It’s been a real long week,” said Raja, “I honestly didn’t know that I was going to make it this far, but being able to win the whole thing is pretty unbelievable for me.”
When asked about how it feels to have his name on the same trophy as past champions like Tiger Woods, Raja said, “It’s a great honor for me and it feels like my hard work has paid off.”
Raja, originally from Indonesia, is a rising sophomore on the Oregon State University Men’s Golf Team. Earlier this month he made the Round of 16 at the Oregon Amateur.
The PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship is one of 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Golf Association
ABOUT THE PNGA Amateur
First held in 1899, the Pacific Northwest Men’s
Amateur
is one of the country’s longest running amateur
championships. Held annually at world-class courses
throughout the Pacific Northwest, this championship
is
played in the same format as the U.S. Amateur and
features an impressive list of past champions that
include; Nick Flanagan, Ben Crane, Jeff Quinney, Bill
Sander, and Tiger Woods. Eligibility is open to
members
of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association and top
amateurs throughout the world invited via
Presidential
Invitation. Each year’s champion earns a hosted
exemption in to the Pacific Coast Amateur and
Sahalee
Players Championship.
The Championship will be conducted in two stages:
Stroke Play – All players must complete the 36-hole
stroke play qualifying in order to determine the 64
players who will advance to match play. In the event
of a tie for the final qualifying spot(s), a sudden-
death playoff will be used to determine the qualifiers.
In the event of a tie for the Qualifying Medalist, a
sudden-death playoff will commence.
Match Play – The General Numerical Draw will be in
effect. Single elimination match play. 36-hole
Championship Final Match. All other matches are 18
holes.
View Complete Tournament Information