Champions are crowned at Washington, Oregon amateurs

Christian “Pono” Yanagi of Pullman shot rounds of 72-63-67 to win the 102nd Washington Men’s Amateur Championship.

The three day 54-hole championship was held last month at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla.

Yanagi entered the day with a one-shot lead and kept his foot on the gas in today’s round, shooting a bogey-free 5-under 67. He won the championship by six shots over second-place finishers Dalton Conn of Seattle and Dane Huddleston of Woodland. Yanagi didn’t make a bogey after the 16th hole in the first round.

Originally from Hawaii, Yanagi plays on the Washington State University men’s golf team, he’ll be returning there in the fall for a final season. After the second round, he credited the team’s home course, Palouse Ridge, for helping to prepare him for the style of play needed for success at Wine Valley.

Defending champion Jace Minni of Delta, B.C. made the cut and finished at 3-over par for the week.