The championship, which was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA), consisted of the top amateur male golfers in the Pacific Northwest over the age of 40.
“The course we played today (the resort’s Hankins Course) suits my game better,” he said after the match. “I generally don’t reach par-5s in two anyway, so the length of Hankins is just about right for me.”
Kuhn did reach one of the par-5s, the downhill 14th. He hit 8-iron for his second shot and put the ball 10 feet from the hole, looking at eagle. He had watched Byrnes put his second shot over the green, from which Byrnes would then have to take an unplayable-lie penalty, eventually conceding the hole to Kuhn.
Kuhn sealed the match and the title on the next hole, the par-3 15th. “I hit a 9-iron there, because I knew I did not want to go long and into the back bunker.” His ball ended up just on the front fringe, and when Byrnes put his tee shot into the back bunker leading to a very difficult shot, Kuhn easily two-putted from the fringe and closed out the match when Byrnes couldn’t get up and down.
Kuhn had been the No. 22 seed entering the match play portion of the championship, but marched his way through the bracket, eventually defeating Byrnes, who had been the No. 1 seed and co-medalist.
Byrnes, 43, attended St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., and got his Master’s degree at the University of Washington. He is a school principal in the White River School District, outside of Tacoma, Wash., and his home course is Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash.