Star-Studded Field Begins Play Friday at 66th Oregon Men's Stroke Play
MOLALLA, Ore. – Over 160 golfers from throughout the region will compete this weekend at the 66th Oregon Men’s Stroke Play Championship, held July 20-22, 2018 at Arrowhead Golf Club in Molalla, Ore.
The event includes 54 holes of stroke play, with three divisions – Open, Senior and Master-40. Each division’s field is cut in half (including ties) after 36 holes, with the top half of each division advancing to play on Sunday.
The Open division will have a new champion in 2018, as last year’s winner Nick Huff (Portland, Ore.) has since turned professional. The field is stacked, however, with accomplished golfers from across the Northwest.
Spencer Tibbits (Vancouver, Wash.) highlights the Open division field. Tibbits was runner-up in last month’s Oregon Amateur Championship, and just last week advanced to the semifinals of the Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship. The Oregon State rising sophomore finished T4 in this event in 2017, finishing one shot back of a playoff to determine the champion.
Fellow Oregon State golfers Kyosuke Hara (Honolulu, Hawaii), Alex Berrey (Corvallis, Ore.), and Richie Mikesell (Bend, Ore.) are also competing, along with former OSU golfer Calum Hill (Corvallis, Ore.). The University of Oregon Men’s Golf Team will be represented by rising sophomore Teddy Oitzman (Eugene, Ore.) and incoming freshmen Craig Ronne (Klamath Falls, Ore.) and Yin Ho Yue (Shanghai, China).
Recent OGA champions Jake Easterly (Clackamas, Ore.), Arthur Kim (Tigard, Ore.), Max Murai (Beaverton, Ore.) and Blake Seabaugh (Tigard, Ore.) will also be competing this weekend.
The Senior division is once again a competitive field with multiple champions included. Pat O’Donnell (Happy Valley, Ore.) leads the way, as he’s won the Senior title an astounding eight times, including the last three years. Two-time champion Randy Mahar (Portland, Ore.) and 2002 winner Denny Taylor (Gladstone, Ore.) are also in the field.
Bob Harrington (Portland, Ore.) is coming off an appearance at this year’s U.S. Senior Open, where he missed the cut by just one shot. He won last year’s Oregon Senior Men’s Amateur title. Bradley Karns (Vancouver, Wash.) and Brad Carey (Lake Oswego, Ore.) will also be competing, as both players qualified last year for the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
Players in the Master-40 division, along with competing for the division title, have the chance to win the overall title, as well. Matt Hartley (Vancouver, Wash.), runner-up in last year’s Oregon Mid-Amateur and qualifier for the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, and Jason Wood (Portland, Ore.), a member of this year’s winning OGA team at the 2018 PNGA Cup, will be in the field. Also competing is Brandon Lorain (Woodburn, Ore.), who advanced to the round of 32 at this year’s Oregon Amateur and led after the first day of the 2018 Oregon Mid-Amateur Championship.
Arrowhead Golf Club sits on the banks of the Molalla River on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley, just outside of Molalla, Ore. Named the 2017 Facility of the Year by the Oregon Golf Association, Arrowhead GC hosts numerous championships every year, and is an ardent supporter of golf in the region. Last year, Arrowhead GC hosted both the 2017 Oregon Mid-Amateur Championship and the OGA Tournament of Champions.
