Sam Renner captured first place in the 122nd Pacific Northwest Golf Association Men’s Amateur Championship held at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington.
The Wazzu product came out firing the first two days of the six-day tournament. In the qualifying rounds, Renner shot a 65 in round one and a 68 in round two to put him alone at the top of the leaderboard entering the round of 64.
Day three served as the round of 64, as Renner was paired with Ruben Ruiz. The duo competed in 18 holes of match play. Renner got to work quickly, winning seven of the first 14 holes and only losing one.
Advancing to the round of 32, Renner was paired with Naoki Easterday. The WSU junior got the best of Easterday, as he was 3-up through 16 holes and walked away with another early win.
In the round of 16, Renner was paired with Grady Millar and like the previous round, Renner captured an early lead and never let go, winning by three holes through 16.
“I got through my first three matches and made it to the quarterfinals and my mindset changed, Renner said after the round of 16. “I thought to myself ‘I could really win this thing’ and that made me want it even more.”
The quarterfinals marked the fifth day of competition. Sam was paired with Jake Slocum, and the rising junior made quick work of the matchup, winning by three through 16 holes.
The semifinals match went down to the wire, with Renner tied entering the 18th green. Renner nailed a four-foot birdie putt to win him the closest match thus far and advance him to the PNGA amateur finals.
“I was confident going into the last hole, but also a little nervous because I knew he had the ability to make an easy birdie,” Renner added. “When I made the four-foot putt to win the match I felt so much relief along with determination to finish the job on Saturday.”
In the finals Renner was paired with Moscow, Idaho native Bryden Brown in a 36-hole match. The Wazzu product got off to a hot start like he had all tournament going 5-up after the first 18. However, on the second 18, Brown started to catch fire, birding 7 out of 12 holes. With the match tied going into hole 16, Renner found a way to get it done, birding the final hole and coming away with the biggest amateur win of his young career.
Renner recalled the moments ahead of the final three holes.
“I told my mom on the…
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