Andrew Putnam wins title at Pacific Coast Amateur

Andrew Putnam of University Place, Wash., a senior-to-be at Pepperdine University, captured the 44th Pacific Coast Amateur title held for the seventh time on the 7,051-yard layout at the venerable Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

As predicted earlier in the week, it was deja Vu for the Putnam family as Andrew’s name joins his older brother Michael on the Updegraff perpetual trophy. Eerily, a birdie on the final hole meant that both brothers won the title at Eugene Country Club with the same score, although Andrew does get some bragging rights as the course he played was 300-yards longer than in 2004.

The tournament committee had made a decision early in the week to setup the course for an exciting finish. They moved the tee up on 17 making the hole a drivable 290-yard par 4 and the placed the hole on 18 to the middle of the green. While Putnam’s lead was apparently insurmountable, there were some players making a charge along the day to keep in interesting.

Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash. was one of the players that made a charge going 4-under par on the front nine. A birdie on the 13th hole closed the gap to 3-strokes until a costly double bogey on 15 put him out of contention. For the championship, that hole along with the quadruple-bogey he took on the 9th hole, were all that was needed keep him from the title. He finished 5-strokes behind Putnam.

The other player making a late charge was Daniel Miernicki of Santee, Calif., a member of the Oregon Ducks golf team that regularly plays practice rounds at Eugene Country Club.