Amateur Hatley birdies final hole, wins Oregon Opening one-hole playoff

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Updated: July 3, 2019

It was amateur hour at the Oregon Open Invitational at Pronghorn Golf Club’s Fazio Course in the final round. That’s amateur hour as in five of the top six players in the tournament were amateurs.

Amateur Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake CC (Hayden, Idaho) birdied the first hole of a playoff against amateur Pat O’Donnell of Arrowhead GC (Molalla, Ore.) and amateur Darren Slackman of The Creek at Qualchan (Spokane, Wash.).

Hatley birdied the 54th and final hole of the tournament to join the playoff with both O’Donnell and Slackman. Hatley then went on to birdie the first playoff hole to win the event and capture his first Pacific Northwest Section major championship. 

Five of the top six players were amateurs. Justin Wiles of the Running Y Ranch Resort was the top professional, finishing in a tie for fifth with amateur Justin Kadin of Tetherow in Bend. Amateur Mason Koch of Meridian Valley finished fourth, one shot out of the playoff.  Second-round leader Brian Thornton of Meridian Valley finished seventh, three shots out of the playoff. O’Donnell, Vanier win Senior events

Pat O’Donnell of Happy Valley, Ore. went wire-to-wire in winning the 55th Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship; while Gary Vanier of Tetonia, Idaho survived a playoff to win the 10th Pacific Northwest Super Senior Men’s Amateur.

The three-day 54-hole stroke-play championships were held concurrently at Florence (Ore.) Golf Links, and were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA). The Senior Men’s Amateur includes men 55 years of age or older while the Super Senior Men’s Amateur includes men age 65 years or older.

O’Donnell was the only player in the Senior Amateur to finish under par, with rounds of 71-73-71. He was the leader after round one, and carried it through to the end. In the final round, he was two shots up on Greg Sanders of Anchorage, Alaska, and he held that lead until the end. In the Super Senior Amateur, Vanier had started the final round one shot behind Paul Lodge of Caldwell, Idaho. Vanier had built a two-shot lead over Lodge with three holes to play, but Lodge birdied holes 16 and 18 to catch Vanier and force a playoff, with both players finishing the three-day championship at 1-under-par. Vanier won the title on the second playoff hole. The two competitors were the only players in the Super Senior field to finish under par.