Philip Bagdade with Oregon Mid-Amateur trophy
(OGA Photo)
NORTH PLAINS, OR (July 10, 2016) -- A day after the
wind howled through the trees and rustled the fescue at
Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek Golf Course, the sun
shown through and champions rose to the top. Sunday’s
championship round at the 28th Oregon Mid-Amateur
was a battle to the end in both the Men’s and Women’s
divisions. In one division, a new champion was crowned,
and in the other, a feisty mid-amateur veteran claimed
yet another title.
In the Men’s Division, Philip Bagdade (Portland,
Ore.) and Robbie Ziegler (Canby, Ore.) were tied for the
lead after opening day rounds of even par 71. Joining
Bagdade and Ziegler in the final group was Justin Kadin
(Corvallis, Ore.), who started the day one stroke back
after a one-over par 72. Kadin faltered on the front
nine, but Bagdade and Ziegler held steady, posting an
even par 36 and a one-over 37, respectively. Playing in
the second to last group, Vincent Digiano (Portland,
Ore.) and Jonathan Romano (Vancouver, Ore.) made
things interesting. The pair jumped up the leaderboard
after each firing even par rounds on the day. With
Digiano and Romano in the clubhouse with two-over par
144 totals, the stage was set as Bagdade and Ziegler
stepped to the tee on the 18th hole.
Both Bagdade and Ziegler sat at two-over par, a
birdie for either would take the lead from Digiano and
Romano, and avoid a possible four-way playoff.
Bagdade and Ziegler both hit their drives in play on the
454-yard closing par four. Both players stuck their
second shots on to the green, Ziegler’s to 20 feet and
Bagdade’s to eight feet. Ziegler putted first. His twenty
footer looked good until it just scraped the edge of the
hole and ran past. With the championship in his hands,
Bagdade crouched behind his ball. After analyzing his
putt, he lowered his head, collecting himself. He then
got up, addressed the ball, and swung the putter back
and through. The ball held its line and gently fell over
the front lip of the cup.
Bagdade pumped his fist in celebration and relief.
He had just won the 28th Oregon Mid-Amateur
Championship. So were there nerves? “Nervewracking,”
said Bagdade after signing his scorecard. “The whole
back nine, I was nervous on every shot. It makes
getting this [win] that much more gratifying to know
that I was able to control my nerves well enough. There
were times I didn’t feel like it was going the way I
wanted it to, but you make one putt like that and it
makes up for a lot.” Bagdade’s birdie gave him a one-
over par 72 on the day, good enough for a 143 total
and a one shot victory over Romano and Digiano.
Ziegler missed his short comeback putt for on the 18th
to drop to third place at 145.
In the Women’s Division, Brie Stone (Veneta, Ore.)
entered the day holding a thin one shot lead over
Amanda Jacobs (Portland, Ore.), who won last year’s
Washington Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Rosie
Cook (Bend, Ore.) joined Stone and Jacobs in the final
group, ready to erase the two shot between her and
Stone. Starting on the tenth hole, Cook made three
straight birdies on holes 15,16, and 17, to make the
turn with a four-over par total. Stone made two bogeys
and a double bogey on the groups’ first nine to fall to
five over par for the tournament, one stroke behind
Cook. Jacobs struggled to find a rhythm all day, and fell
behind the leaders after a six-over par 41 on her first
nine put her four shots back with just the front nine to
play.
With Ghost Creek’s front nine remaining, Stone
found caught stride, making birdies on three of the first
six holes. Cook could not answer, and fell back after a
double bogey on her eleventh hole and two bogeys on
her fourteenth and sixteenth holes. As the final group
walked down their final hole, Stone had all but wrapped
up her sixth Women’s mid-amateur championship in
seven years. A par on the final hole gave Stone a four-
over par 75 for the day and a five-over par five 147
total, good enough for a five shot victory over Cook.
So how did a sixth championship feel? “Amazing,”
breathed Stone. “I came into this tournament really
wanting to win, this is kind of my big tournament of the
year, and so it felt pretty good to get it done today.
Rosie was ahead of me there on our first nine, I was
struggling a little bit. So it was tough, it was really
tough, but I played really well on the [second nine] this
time.” Cook’s final day seven-over par 78 gave her a
ten-over par 152 total to claim runner-up. Gretchen
Johnson (Portland, Ore.) shot a nine-over par 80 to take
third place.
With a new champion and a decorated winner
headed home as champions, the sun set over Pumpkin
Ridge, bringing a close to the 28th Oregon Mid-Amateur
Championship. The OGA Championship action continues
on August 5th with the 2016 Oregon Men’s Stroke Play
Championship at Centennial Golf Club in Medford, Ore.
View results for Oregon Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE
Oregon Mid-Amateur
ELIGIBILITY
WOMEN: Entries are open to female amateur golfers
with USGA Handicap Indexes™
of 22.4 or less. The field will be limited to the 21
entrants with the lowest USGA
Handicap Indexes at the entry deadline. In the event
that the Women’s Division does
not reach its field limit, the remaining spots will be
transferred to the Men’s Division.
MEN: Entries are open to amateur golfers with USGA
Handicap Indexes™ of 10.0
or less. The final Championship field will include
exempt players as well as those that
advance from the additional 18-hole stroke play
qualifying stage.
All contestants must be members in good standing
of
an OGA Member Club and be at
least 25 years of age.
36-hole stroke play competition. Prize awards will be
made on the basis of gross finish.
View Complete Tournament Information