Northwest Open/2018
Prante Defends Northwest Open Title
By Nathan Pajutee, PNW PGA Tournament Intern
Nestled perfectly in Eastern Washington next to the Blue Mountains, the scenic Wine Valley Golf Club played host to the 2018 Northwest Open Invitational for a ninth consecutive year. This par-72, 6,980-yard course posed a unique challenge to the 163 PGA professionals and amateurs competing in the tournament. With the leaderboard becoming incredibly tight over three rounds, PGA Professional Shane Prante of The Home Course emerged victorious to defend his title and claim his third Northwest Open Invitational.
The tournament began on the morning of Monday, August 20. Wine Valley GC has the potential for high winds, but players were instead met with a moderate layer of smoke from forest fires that blew in a few days prior to the tournament. Although the smoke provided an eerie atmosphere for the competition, it did not seem to have an effect on the golfers, as there were a significant number of players that came in to the clubhouse under par. Notably, PGA Professional Russell Grove of North Idaho College fired an impressive 7-under par 65 with a 29 on the back nine, which tied him in the lead at the end of the first round with PGA Professional Loren Jeglum of the University of Idaho and amateur Kyle Cornett from Inglewood GC.
Day two ushered in more low scores and the drama of the competition heated up. PGA Professional Kurt Valley of The GC at Redmond Ridge shot an incredible 9-under par 63 to hold a 3-shot lead over the field heading into the final round. Competitors near the top of the leaderboard knew they also had to go low or be left in the dust. During the final round, Shane Prante climbed up the leaderboard with an amazing 9-under 63 to successfully defend his title and claim his third Northwest Open Invitational with a total score of 16-under par 67-70-63-200.
On his win, Prante said, “It feels very satisfying to win another major because I really respect the competition that we play against and know that a lot has to go right to get a win.”
Perhaps even more impressive than his final round 63 was the face that he shot a 7-under 29 on his final nine holes. It’s only natural that Prante believes his game fits perfectly with Wine Valley GC.
“My ability to shape the ball with irons and my putting on the greens is a big key. I love sloping/fast greens and know that I will hit a lot of good putts.”
In addition to his major win, we would also like to congratulate Shane Prante as he will be elected to full PGA Membership on September 4!
We’d like to thank Wine Valley GC for hosting yet another Northwest Open Invitational. Thank you to host PGA Professional Chris Isaacson and his golf shop team, Superintendent Tyler and his grounds crew for the fantastic course. We’d also like to thank our sponsors for this event, Orange Whip and GT Golf Supplies. We look forward to returning to Wine Valley GC again for the 2019 Northwest Open Invitational!
