Bend, Ore. – Under smoky skies from a fire only a few miles away, the third and final qualifier for the 105th Oregon Amateur Championship was held at the 6,668-yard, par-72 Widgi Creek Golf Course in Bend, Ore. At this qualifier for the Men's division, nine golfers automatically advanced to the Championship proper, which will be held June 16-21 at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore.

With a wild fire burning close to Bend, causing many residents to evacuate their homes, Charlie Hillier of Oregon City, Ore. went out and fired an even par round of 72 to earn Medalist honors. Hillier just graduated from high school in New Zealand and is visiting and playing tournaments in Oregon for the summer. Of his round, Hillier said, “It was good. One ball out of bounds on twelve but that was the only bad shot. I like the golf course, it was good.” Hillier, who made all pars on the front nine, sprinkled in three birdies and three bogeys on the back.

Notably in the field was Charlie Rice of Bend, Ore. who was a member of the 2014 PNGA Cup team for the OGA and the inaugural Men’s Master 40 Champion. Rice qualified easily after finishing in a tie for third after shooting a 4-over par 76.

A playoff for the last spot occurred with two players that finished at 8-over par, Mike Eisenhauer of Keizer, Ore. and Maxwell Higlin of Bend. After two playoff holes both players matched pars, then on the third playoff, a long three shot par five, Eisenhauer decided to hit three wood to the center of the fairway while Higlin hit driver, which went left into the trees. Higlin was forced to pitch out but when his fourth shot ended up in the greenside bunker, Eisenhauer had to simply two putt for par to win the last spot. 

Hillier now joins 31 exempt players along with the nine qualifiers plus the qualifiers at the Quail Valley and Stone Creek sites into the championship. This year’s championship proper will include such notables as Thomas Lim, runner up from last year and Scott Hval, the reigning Oregon Senior Amateur Champion. 

This was third of three qualifiers for the Oregon Amateur. The other two were held at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks, Ore. and Stone Creek Golf Course in Oregon City, Ore.

ABOUT THE OREGON AMATEUR

The Oregon Amateur Championship, administered by the Oregon Golf Association, is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur sporting competitions in the state.

While many state Championships have become stroke play competitions, the Oregon Amateur, one of the nation's oldest, remains true to its roots playing the same traditional match play format that's used to this day to determine the best amateur champions even at the national level. It's also one of the few Men's and Women's amateurs held concurrently, always played at the same time at the same site. It is held only at the finest golf courses and historically showcases some of the most talented amateur golfers in the Northwest.

The inaugural Oregon Amateur was held at Waverley Country Club in 1904, the only course in Portland at the time.   Waverley hosted the event every year until it moved to Gearhart Golf Links on the northern Oregon Coast in 1917. The event was cancelled in 1918 due to World War I, but returned to Waverley and then Portland Golf Club and Tualatin Country Club from 1919-23.

As popularity of the sport grew so did the number of players in the Championship. By 1924 it became evident that help was needed to run the tournament, the area clubs formed the Oregon Golf Association.

Today, the Men's field is limited to 108 Men with USGA Handicap Indexes of 5.0 or less. The Top 50 Men from the prior year's performance points list, along with past champions, are exempt from going through a qualifying process that determines the initial championship field.