PNW Assistant Championship/2023

Daniel Campbell Takes Home Assistant Championship

By: Grant Tribolet, Tournament Intern

The National Car Rental PNW PGA Assistant Professional Championship took place on August 7th at Tualatin Country Club in Tualatin, Oregon. For 36 holes, 36 assistants and associates battled for the championship and a chance to play in the 47th annual PGA Assistant Championship this November at PGA Golf Club, Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

After the first round, Daniel Campbell of Bellingham Golf and Country Club sat atop the leaderboard after an opening round -6 66. “The course set up well for my game. I'm generally really solid off the tee, and putting is also pretty solid, but my wedges this week were spot on, which led to a lot of good looks for birdie.” But there were still another 18 holes to play, and a familiar name chased down the leader. Multi-winner of the event, Shane Prante of The Home Course, sat one shot back of Daniel after round one.

As the 36 holes came to a close, it proved that it would not be enough to decide the victor as Daniel Campbell and Shane Prante sat atop the leaderboard tied at -7. Both players have already had an exceptional season, with a major victory a for each of them; it was sure to be an exciting conclusion to the event.

The playoff commenced on the 1st hole following the conclusion of play. Daniel Campbell came out on top after the first hole. When asked about his strategy, Campbell said he “[Wanted] to be aggressive and hit driver and then just try to get it up down for birdie. [His] pitching and chipping had been great all day, so [he] believed that [he] could get it up and down for birdie if [he] hit a good drive.” He was able to do just that!

This is Campbell’s second victory of the season, and he is excited to continue his strong play through the last few events. “It feels great, a lot of this success this year comes from a good start to the year with winning the Pro-Assistants Championship with my Head Professional Cameron Fife in March. But to win another individual title is great, I've been playing well all summer so far and just want to keep it going for the next few events that I have.”

We want to congratulate Daniel Campbell on his tremendous play and his second victory of the 2023 season! We would also like to congratulate Shane Prante of The Home Course, Colin Inglis of Shadow Hills Country Club, and Blake Netter of Willamette Valley Country Club for being the three eligible assistants that qualified for the 2023 PGA Assistant’s Championship.

The PNW PGA Section would like to thank host PGA Head Professional Jeremy Moe and all his staff and grounds crew for having Tualatin Country Club in championship condition. We would also like to appreciate our sponsor National Car Rental and the support of Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO, and the PGA Tour.

Final results: https://2023secassistant.golfgenius.com/