Idaho’s Derek Bayley Qualifies for the US Amateur

By the Washington State Golf Association

Pullman, Wash. – Derek Bayley of Rathdrum, Idaho shot rounds of 64-74 to earn medalist honors in leading the field of 50 players who competed today in 36-hole U.S. Amateur Sectional qualifying at the par-72 Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash.

Along with Bayley, the other player to advance from this qualifier is Chris Hatch of Mukilteo, Wash., who shot rounds of 70-69.

Bayley and Hatch now advance to the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship, which will be held August 13-19 at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links.

Bayley blistered the morning round in today’s qualifier, firing 11 birdies and making only four pars on his way to an 8-under 64.

Bayley continues his summer of quality golf. Last week he won the Rosauers Open Invitational in Spokane, Wash., competing against the region’s PGA professionals. This is the second time he has won the Rosauers, which is one of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA’s majors, having previously won it in 2016. Earlier this month he made it to the Round of 32 of the PNGA Men’s Amateur.

Last fall Bayley was named the 2017 WSGA Men’s Player of the Year, after finishing second in the Washington State Men’s Amateur and runner-up in the PNGA Men’s Amateur. He is a recent graduate of Washington State University, where he starred all four years on the men’s golf team. Today he competed on the school’s, and his, home course of Palouse Ridge.

In today’s afternoon round, Hatch was 5-under after 12 holes, and had a 1-shot lead over Bayley, but had two bogeys coming in to finish one shot back.

Hatch graduated from Western Washington University in 2017, where he played all four years on the men’s golf team, and was named a GNAC All Star all four years and First Team All-GNAC for three years. He set a GNAC record for 119 rounds played. He played in the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2015. Hatch also made it to the Round of 32 at the PNGA Men’s Amateur earlier this month.

The two alternates from this qualifier are Brian Mogg of Issaquah, Wash. (first) and Grant Cole of Pullman, Wash. (second).

The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this Sectional qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

U.S. Amateur Sectional Qualifier
Palouse Ridge Golf Club
Pullman, Wash.
7202 Yards, Par 72

State Am Champ Colby Dean Adds US Amateur Qualifier to Resume

EAGLE, Idaho – On a blistering hot Monday at BanBury Golf Club Colby Dean once again found himself in contention to achieve one of amateur golf’s greatest accomplishments. Dean was 3 shots behind the leader after the first round, but a second round including two eagles and five birdies catapulted Dean into the lead. A 36-hole total of 133, 69-64 (-9) gave the 2018 State Amateur Champion the lone qualifying spot for the U.S. Amateur, held at iconic Pebble Beach this August.

The first highlight of Dean’s final round occurred on hole #12. Two long irons set up a short approach shot into the par-5. His wedge shot from 105 yards out landed 10 feet behind the hole and spun back into the center of the cup for eagle.

The next highlight came on the final hole of the tournament. Dean hit a crisp iron shot into the short par-5 and left himself with a 10-foot eagle putt. He would go on to sink that putt and celebrated with a fist pump. After the round Dean said he knew making that putt would be the difference maker.

In similar fashion to last month’s State Am, it was Hunter Ostrom and Dean battling for first place, although the two were not paired together for this qualifier.

Notre Dame’s Ostrom (2 shots back after 18) and round one leader Connor Johnstone of Boise State still topped the leaderboard after 27 holes of play. The familiar foes went toe-to-toe in the pairing right behind Dean.

Johnstone and Ostrom exchanged birdies throughout the final round. Two shots right next to the hole on the par-3 16th hole and subsequent birdie putts summarized the way these two rivaled each other. Ostrom’s relatively mistake free final round 66 was good enough to earn him the first alternate spot. A couple of mistakes off the tee for Johnstone set him back a little, but a solid final round 69 was good enough for third.

View full results here.

If history is any indication, there is a good chance that Ostrom could make it into the field at the U.S. Amateur as an alternate. Dean says he’s excited to play Pebble Beach for the first time in such a prestigious tournament. He’s also looking forward to spending the week with a former college teammate from Chico State who qualified earlier this week.

This year’s U.S. Amateur will be held August 13-19. Two round of stroke play will be followed by match play. Match play will be broadcast on FS1.

Bicknese, Garcia Punch Their Tickets to U.S. Junior Ams

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho’s future stars were on the course today at Crane Creek Country Club in a battle for a single spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur.

Jonas Bicknese of Fruitland, Idaho shot a 2-under 70 to punch his ticket to the U.S. Junior Am held at the historic Baltrusol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. “I wasn’t expecting to play well today. I played poorly in the State Am this past weekend, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Bicknese said after the round.

On a difficult setup at Crane Creek, Bicknese was forced to convert many up-and-downs from off the green. He gave credit to his putting for these par saves. Spectators and Bicknese’s playing partners agreed, saying that he practically made every putt he had.

The highlight of the round for Bicknese came on holes 14 and 15. A bogey on the par-5 13th dropped Bicknese to 1-under after hitting a tee shot that ended up in a hazard. Bicknese birdied the next two holes, a move that would prove crucial as the rest of the field hovered around par.

The girls’ qualifier was also extremely competitive. As the heat turned up in the Boise foothills, it became apparent that no career rounds were to be shot. Whoever made the least amount of mistakes would survive and advance to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Julia Garcia, all the way from Temple, Texas, shot a 1-over 73 to outlast the competition. Garcia’s bogey, bogey, bogey start was not ideal, but 4 birdies throughout the round brought her back into the fold.

Pocatello’s Payton Fehringer was the first alternate and Boise’s Emily Cadwell won a playoff in three holes to become 2nd alternate.

For the boys, Seattle’s Daniel Tiscareno was the first alternate and Meridian’s Jake Slocum won a playoff to become 2nd alternate.

The U.S. Junior Amateur takes place July 16-21, 2018 (broadcast on FS1)
The U.S. Girls’ Junior takes place the same dates.

Full qualifier results:
Boys

Girls

Dean Captures 2018 State Am

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – Not often do we see a dominating performance at the Idaho State Amateur. The event reserved for the state’s finest players was led start to finish by Eagle’s Colby Dean. Colby hoisted the trophy on Sunday afternoon after finishing with a score of 10-under at Canyon Springs Golf Course.

If you’ve been following along you’ll already know that Dean is a former Chico State golfer who played for state championship teams at Eagle High School, as well. “High school and college victories are nice,” said Dean, “but winning on home soil in front of friends and family is well near the top of the rankings for me.”

Dean began Sunday’s final round at 10-under; five shots ahead of Hunter Ostrom in second place. The round started off a little shaky for Dean. A misplaced drive on the Par-4 12th left him with a difficult approach shot into an elevated green guarded by trees right in Dean’s line. The approach landed next to a tree root off the green; Dean could not convert and walked away with a bogey.

At that point, Dean switched gears and put on a fantastic ball-striking display on Canyon Spring’s back nine.

A booming drive in the middle of the fairway on the par-5 14th set up an easy wedge shot into the green. Dean knocked it to about 12-feet from the hole and drained the eagle putt. Right after that on the Par 3 15th, Dean struck a perfectly flighted iron shot that landed a mere 5 feet from the hole. Once again, he capitalized on the opportunity and made the birdie putt.

Consistent play tee-to-green was the theme of the rest of the first nine holes (back nine). Great drives and short irons in set up great chances, but many of the birdie putts just missed.

On the second nine, Hunter Ostrom put the pressure on Dean. Ostrom outdrove his competitors by a wide margin and was finally able to get some birdie putts to drop. After birdies on 1, 3, and 4 cut the lead down to 4 strokes. Dean made a rare bogey on the par-3 5th hole and suddenly the lead was only 3 with 4 holes remaining.

An unfazed Dean bounced back by hitting the green in regulation on the last four holes, preventing him from any high pressure putts. Dean made par on those last four holes, sealing the victory.

Dean says he plans on remaining an amateur for the summer and will play in events like the PNGA Amateur before turning pro. After turning pro, Dean plans on playing in pro events in Asia with the eventual goal of moving his way up to the PGA Tour.

View full Idaho State Am results here.

STATE AM DAY 2: Cross Makes His Way Into the Picture

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – Day 1 leader Colby Dean started off Saturday’s second round with a couple mishaps, but he didn’t let that affect him for the rest of the day. Dean shot a 3-under 69 to stay atop the Idaho State Amateur leaderboard.

A couple of wayward tee shots on holes 13 and 14 resulted in bogeys for the Chico State grad. On 14, Dean remained focused after going O.B. left and knocked in a 15-foot putt with confidence to save bogey.

Perhaps 4 years of college competition prepared Dean to bounce back from adversity. Maintaining a lead is not an easy task considering Chris Carew in 2nd place was off to a hot start in the same group.

Dean finished his first nine holes with 2 birdies to climb back to 1-over on the day (-6 total). Dean fared much better on the back nine. Accurate drives set up a few birdie chances, which he capitalized on with great putting. A key highlight on the second nine being a birdie on the difficult par-3 5th hole playing straight into wind gusts of up to 25mph.

Hunter Ostrom also finished the day 3-under, giving him a two day total of 139 (5-under). Ostrom once again put an eagle down on the scorecard, and made 2 fewer bogeys than Friday (3) proving that his game is trending upwards heading into Sunday.

Carew finished with a 75 (+3), but remains in 5th at 1-over. Rounding out the final pairing is Jason Huff who fired a 73 (+1) which was good enough for 4th place at even par.

One of the more fascinating stories of moving day was Randal Cross. The Twin Falls resident played in the first flight, but shot a lights-out round of 68 on Saturday to give him a two-day total of 140 (-4) – which, yes, is currently in third place. The 54-year-old is one year shy of senior status for IGA championships, but is showing the state why he belongs in the top 5 of the IGA’s hallmark event.

Be sure to follow along with the final round and view all scores from Canyon Springs in Twin Falls here.

(Note: players from the first flight are eligible to win the event, winners from net scores in the first flight remains the only difference between the championship flight and first flight; handicap index separates flights)

Colby Dean Leads State Amateur Field by 5 Strokes After Day One

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The first day of the 2018 Idaho State Amateur proved to be a tough test for the state’s top players. Colby Dean of Eagle, ID leads the field with a 7-under 65. Trailing in second place are Meridian’s Hunter Ostrom and Chris Carew, who each dropped a score of 2-under 70. Jason Huff from Moscow, at 1-under, was the only other player under par at Canyon Springs Golf Course in Twin Falls.

Dean, a recent graduate of Chico State University, played with impressive consistency. A bogey free round with 7 birdies puts Dean 5 strokes free of second place. “I was pretty good tee to green, and I didn’t leave myself with any stressful putts,” he said after the round.

Ostrom will be a junior at Notre Dame in the fall, and is already a 2018 IGA championship winner at the Four-Ball. He went eagle, birdie, birdie on holes 14, 15, and 16 to get to 2-under. Carew, a high school teammate of Dean at Eagle High School, played his way into second place by only making 2 bogeys with 4 birdies. Huff is a former University of Idaho golfer who stayed in contention by staying away from any high numbers and balanced bogeys with birdies, much like Carew.

A few of the expected leaders going into Friday’s first round played well enough to stay in contention, but they’ll need low rounds on the weekend barring a major collapse by the front of the pack.

Saturday’s second round is predicted to be affected by strong wind gusts, so it might not be surprising to see results higher than the first round stroke average of 76.92.

Click here for scores and statistics

Junior Tour Kicks Off 2018 Season

BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Junior Tour season kicked off the 2018 season with tournaments in three districts on Wednesday. District 1 played their matches at RedHawk GC and Lakeview GC for 13-18 year-olds and 9-12 year-olds respectively. Twin Falls GC was host to District 2’s events, and District 3 hit the links of Teton Lakes GC.

The future of the game in Idaho is in good hands. Junior Tour veterans showed up ready to shoot low scores, and first timers made the best of their opportunity to grow as players and young men and women.

The Idaho Junior Tour is Idaho’s only premier junior golf tour, available to any Idaho golfers between the ages of 9 to 18. The Idaho Junior Tour is dedicated to providing junior golfers the opportunity of playing golf competitively while applying the rules of golf, practicing proper golf course etiquette, and encouraging and developing sportsmanlike conduct.

The Idaho Junior Tour is divided into four districts: District 1 (Western Idaho), District 2 (Central Idaho), District 3 (Eastern Idaho), and District 4 (Northern Idaho).

2018 Mixed Alternate Shot Recap

NAMPA, Idaho – The Mixed Alternate Shot is one of the more entertaining events on the IGA championship calendar, but that doesn’t mean the competition is lacking.

Couples, friends, father/daughter pairs, or mother/son pairs arrived at Centennial Golf Course on a picture perfect Saturday morning with one round of golf to decide a champion. Kareen Markle and Scott Vermeer took home the championship trophies, shooting a bogey free 5-under 67.

Runner-up was the father/daughter team of Jim McCord and Gabrielle McCord with a 2-under score of 70. In the first flight, Cindy and Randy Crayne bested runners-up Dani and Kip Andrus and Vincent Grinnell/Erin Latham by one stroke, shooting a 75.

View full results here.

Bayley Wins 2018 Match Play Championship in a Rematch of Last Year’s Final

CALDWELL, Idaho – In what may be the toughest championship field of the season, the top two seeds in the 2018 Match Play Championship expectedly met in the final match this past Memorial Day. Top seeded Derek Bayley of Rathdrum, Idaho won that match 6&5 against the two seed Grayson Huff of Eagle, Idaho in dominating fashion.

Play began Saturday morning at TimberStone GC with Bayley out in the first tee time, fresh off a trip to Florida for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship (making it to the first round of match play). Bayley won that first match decidedly 6&5 against Randal Cross. Not far behind was Huff, who faced Daniel Uranga, and came away with a solid opening round 3&2 victory. Bayley’s next match was a little tighter, but he still won 2&1 to advance to the next round where he bounced back with an 8&6 win in the quarterfinals. Huff’s path to the semifinals was a breeze, knocking off his opponents 5&3 and 7&6.

The semifinal matchups made for an exciting Sunday afternoon. Bayley, a Washington State golfer, faced off against fellow college golfer Hunter Ostrom (Notre Dame) in the top half of the bracket. Ostrom also looked impressive in his matches over the weekend, and a victory in 19 holes over Boise State’s Connor Johnstone set the tone for what was to come in the semifinals.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Huff (who plays at Auburn University) would face 6 seed Greg Law. The semifinal matchups featured players who are all under the age of 23, but have had plenty of experience at the top of the leaderboard in IGA championships.

Ostrom and Bayley both came out firing on the front nine; Ostrom took a two shot lead at the turn thanks to birdies on 5 and 8. Ostrom maintained a lead of one on the 17 tee box, with Bayley realistically needing a birdie on 17 or 18 to tie the match. Bayley’s shot on 17 under pressure was phenomenal – landing perfectly on the upslope of the tiered green and rolling up to a couple feet right of the pin on top. Ostrom missed a long birdie attempt and Bayley made his short birdie putt shortly after.

The Huff/Law match was close for the entire duration. A couple of bogeys by Huff on the front allowed Law to tie it up at the turn. A couple of late bogeys by Law let Huff back into the match, and the two went into 18 all square. Pars by both on 18 meant everyone in the foursome was headed to the first tee for extra holes.

On the short par 4 1st hole, Bayley went first and knocked his second shot to about 15 feet. Ostrom’s massive drive set up a short wedge shot into the green, but he flew it just over the back. In the other pairing, Huff hit his approach on the green to about 15 feet as well, and much like Ostrom, Law flew his short approach just long. Ostrom’s chip was nearly impossible to get close, and he was unable to get it on the green, giving Bayley the win. Law’s chip landed a few feet from the pin, but Huff drained his birdie putt to advance to the final.

Monday’s final was expected. Bayley won the 2017 Match Play Championship against Huff, and there was no doubt that these two had the game to meet again. What no one expected, though, was for the final to be a blowout.

Bayley birdied 3 of the first 4 holes. On the par 4 5th hole, Huff’s drive was locked on to the pin, rolling up and just catching the edge of the cup – almost a hole-in-one. Bayley had about 50 yards in; his approach shot landed, took one bounce and trickled into the middle of the cup for an eagle 2 to match Huff.

The rest of the match was full of similar shots from Bayley and his 29 on the front left little hope for a Huff comeback. The match ended 6&5 on the 13th hole, both players showing a lot of respect for each other as they shook hands. Bayley continued to play in an attempt to best Huff’s course record 61 (shot at the 2017 Match Play), and Bayley eventually tied that score.

View full results here.

Huff will go back to prepare for his junior season at Auburn, and Bayley plans on turning pro later this year after finishing up his final classes at Washington State.

Women's Bracket Results

Senior Bracket Results

2018 Four-Ball Champions Crowned

NAMPA, Idaho – The Idaho Four-Ball Championships were held May 19-20 at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa. The largest championship event of the year had full fields in the Amateur, Womens, and Senior Divisions.

Defending champions Hunter Ostrom and Phil Kennedy took home the Amateur Four-Ball Championship in a playoff against Dean Park and Kenny Walker. Ostrom and Kennedy started Sunday’s final round 2 shots back of the leaders, and knew they would have to score well to win. Starting on 7, the team didn’t have a perfect start, but bounced back from a bogey on 10 with birdies on the tough 12th hole and the 14th hole. An eagle on the Par 5 1st hole brought them to -5, and a long string of pars by Kennedy kept the team in contention down the stretch, culminating in a birdie by both players on 6. Behind them were Dean Park and Kenny Walker, who were playing in the final group. Walker’s eagle on the second to last hole of the day proved to be crucial, and a final round 66 was enough to force a playoff. Park and Walker made par on the first playoff hole and Ostrom, a sophomore at Notre Dame, was left with a 5-foot birdie putt for the Championship which he delivered.

In the Womens Division, Kareen Markle and Stacey Camara came from behind to force a playoff with Kris Fenwick and Anne Williamson where Markle & Camara won on the fourth playoff hole. Markle and Camara came out hot, shooting -3 on the front nine. A rough back nine start was mitigated by birdies on 14 and 17, and a solid round of 67 gave Markle and Camara the lead in the clubhouse. The final group of Fenwick/Williamson and Henley Rauch had final rounds of 70 and 69 respectively, which was enough for a 3-way playoff. All groups had pars on the 1st playoff hole, but on the 2nd hole a tough break proved too much to overcome for Henley and Rauch as they could not match the pars of Markle/Camara and Fenwick/Williamson. Pars again at the 3rd hole sent the playoff to the challenging par-3 4th hole. Camara’s shot landed to about 5 feet, and she was able to sink the birdie putt to win the Womens Four-Ball Championship. 

The Senior Four-Ball Championship was closely contested, and it was the team of Jay Sutton and Dan Pickens who came out on top over their final pairing opponents Mike Rawls and Rod Skyles. A -3 start on the first 12 holes by Sutton and Pickens sent the duo into the final 6 holes up by one stroke. A Rawls eagle on 1 tied the match back up, but it was a 30-foot bomb for birdie on 4 by Sutton to take the lead that was the highlight of the day. The two teams matched birdies on 5, and Sutton and Pickens were able to make par on the 6th hole to seal the victory.

Champions Philip Kennedy & Hunter Ostrom

Women's Champions Kareen Markle & Stacey Camara

Senior Champions Jay Sutton & Dan Pickens

Full results:

Amateur

Women

Senior