Chanen ends marathon week with Arizona Am title

RIO VERDE, Ariz. (Aug. 4, 20180 - After six days, eight rounds, and 118 holes at Tonto Verde Golf Course, Jake Chanen walked off the 18th green as the 94th Arizona Amateur Champion.

Starting Monday, 145 of Arizona’s hottest golfers were in the field. As the field got smaller, Jake’s game got stronger.

“This week went really well. I started off a little shaky on the first round of the stroke-play, but then my game got more solid each day. I hit it really straight and didn’t miss it offline too much. I made a lot of putts,” Chanen said.

The Grand Canyon University collegiate golfer and No. 12 seed in match play snatched a 1-up victory over No. 2 seed George Markham. As the two went head-to-head, Chanen built a quick 2-up lead on the front nine. Markham fired back to square the match, winning holes 10 and 11. Chanen went on to win the 13th and 14th greens, which propelled him back into the lead by two. Chanen went dormie after 16, meaning that Markham had to win the next two. Markham responded by winning on an impressive 17th hole, forcing play on the 18th. Chanen’s consistent play on the 18th hole decisively determined his victory.

Chanen already had a solid resume entering the tournament, he has won back-to-back Arizona Stroke Play Championships and qualified for three USGA Championships. He now can add the Arizona Amateur Championship title to his list.

“This victory is really important to me because I have never won this tournament. I have only played in it twice and last year got eliminated in the quarterfinals. So this year, it was a goal of mine to see how far I could go,” the champion said.

The Arizona Amateur is the oldest tournament conducted by the Arizona Golf Association. It is known as being the state’s most prestigious amateur golf championship. The event consisted of a 36-hole stroke-play qualifier, followed by a 64-player match-play.