Hair Comes From Behind to Win 39th Pacific Northwest Master-40
Federal Way, Wash. – Nate Hair of Edwall, Wash. capped off an impressive week with a 4 and 3 victory over Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. in the final match to win the 39th Pacific Northwest Master-40 Amateur Championship, held on the Prospector Course at Suncadia in Cle Elum, Wash.
In the final match, Brandes jumped to an early 1-up lead with a par on the par-4 first hole, and the lead held after nine holes. But beginning on hole No. 10, Hair won five of six holes, closing out the match with a par on the par-3 15th hole.
After four days this week of sunny and calm weather, the wind picked up during today’s final match. “Yes, the wind really made it tough today,” Hair said. “It really changed the golf course, and you really had to bear down and hit some shots you normally wouldn’t have to hit.” Watch Hair’s post-round interviewhere.This is the first PNGA championship that Hair has competed in. “I’m a little overwhelmed by it,” Hair said of his victory. “There’s a lot of really great players here.”
Hair narrowly made his way through the Rounds of 32 and 16 in the match play bracket. In the Round of 32, he birdied the par-5 18th hole to square his match with Roger Eichhorn of Bend, Ore., and then won the 19th hole. In the Round of 16, Hair was 4-down after four holes in his match against Karl Smith of Gig Harbor, Wash. He squared the match after 13 holes, then won on the 19th hole.
Brandes has won multiple PNGA championships. He is the reigning PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur champion, and has won the past three PNGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year awards. The Master-40 is the one title that has eluded Brandes.
The championship called for 36 holes of stroke play qualifying which seeded the competitors into match play brackets. All matches were 18 holes and were played at scratch.
For more information on the Pacific Northwest Men’s Master-40 Amateur Championship, including final match play results, go towww.thepnga.org.
The Pacific Northwest Master-40 is one of 15 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) was founded on February 4, 1899. It is a 501c3 charitable, international, amateur golf association dedicated to preserving the true spirit of golf by supporting its allied associations, conducting quality championships, and promoting activities beneficial to golfers in the Pacific Northwest. The PNGA employs a full-time staff of 14, headed by a CEO/Executive Director, with offices located in Federal Way, Wash. Under the direction of the Board of Directors and in conjunction with a number of standing committees, the staff administers the day-to-day affairs of the Association. PNGA territory is broken down into five zones, which are: Zone 1 – Oregon; Zone 2 – Eastern Washington; Zone 3 – Western Washington and Alaska; Zone 4 – British Columbia and Alberta; and Zone 5 – Idaho and Montana. There are approximately 220,000 individuals at over 720 PNGA member golf clubs.
The original purpose of the PNGA was to conduct a regional amateur championship for men and women. For more than a century, the Association has been a pioneer in developing competitions and services and its mission has grown and evolved. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly “regional” organization providing benefits and services to its members and member clubs throughout the Northwest.
