Idaho golfer captures Master-40 event

With a two-putt par on the par-3 15th hole of the Hankins Course at Silvies Valley Ranch, Darren Kuhn of Pocatello, Idaho closed out his match 4&3 against Jeff Byrnes of Buckley, Wash., to win the 43rd Pacific Northwest Master-40 Amateur Championship.

The championship, which was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA), consisted of the top amateur male golfers in the Pacific Northwest over the age of 40.

Kuhn sealed the match and the title on the next hole, the par-3 15th. “I hit a 9-iron there, because I knew I did not want to go long and into the back bunker.” His ball ended up just on the front fringe, and when Byrnes put his tee shot into the back bunker leading to a very difficult shot, Kuhn easily two-putted from the fringe and closed out the match when Byrnes couldn’t get up and down.

Kuhn had been the No. 22 seed entering the match play portion of the championship, but marched his way through the bracket, eventually defeating Byrnes, who had been the No. 1 seed and co-medalist.