Washington Open/2017

By Mitchell DeKruif, Tournament Intern

Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent, WA hosted the 91st Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational and Pro-Am benefiting Folds of Honor. The 6,707 yard, par 72 course provided the perfect venue for a successful pro-am and competitive championship. The pro-am was held May 20-21 with the three-day championship following May 22-24.

The Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Pro-Am, benefiting Folds of Honor, consisted of a field of 29 sponsored teams of four amateurs and one PGA Professional each. The teams competed in a two-day, best 2 of 5 net shamble format. After 36 holes of competition, the margin of victory was only one shot. The Sysco-sponsored team, consisting of host PGA Assistant Professional Hagen Dickinson (Meridian Valley CC), and amateurs Jim Redman, Nate Spitzer, Steve Elmore and Russ Heaton, took home the victory with an impressive 50-under par. Even more remarkable than their score was the $61,000 raised for Folds of Honor. Folds of Honor is a foundation which provides academic scholarships to the families of fallen American soldiers.

After the exciting conclusion of the pro-am over the weekend, the 54-hole championship began. 165 PNW PGA Professionals and amateurs teed it up with one goal in mind: to hoist the Washington Open Invitational trophy as champion. Exceptional play would be needed in order to accomplish this goal as narrow fairways, firm greens and challenging hole locations made low scores hard to come by. Round one concluded with three PGA professionals atop the leaderboard at 3-under par: Derek Berg (Sahalee CC), Tyler Sweet (Sunland G&CC) and David Phay (Whidbey G&CC). Round two saw a lot of jockeying for position, but no one separated themselves as tough conditions kept the leaderboard congested. It ended with PGA professional Derek Berg on top at 4-under par, followed by PGA professional Shane Prante (Lake Spanaway GC) at 3-under and PGA professional Ryan Benzel (Sahalee CC) at 1-under. These men would make up the final group on day three, but no one could prepare for what amateur Drew McCullough (Meadow Springs CC) would conjure up in his final round.

When asked how he prepared for his final round, Drew replied that he knew he had to “hit more greens… to shoot a solid number.”

And a solid number it was. Drew finished his front nine at 4-under par, right on the heels of the leaders in the final group. After his eagle on 13 he knew he was only one shot back and within striking distance to win the championship. Coming in, Drew didn’t play it safe as he ended his round birdie, birdie to shoot a tournament low round of 65. This was enough to edge out low PGA professional Shane Prante by one shot.

“It feels great to win my first major against such a good field on a great course,” Drew said of his dramatic win. That sums up the week; the best players in the region, playing a challenging golf course and amateur Drew McCullough finding his name atop the leaderboard.

We’d like to thank Meridian Valley CC, Muckleshoot Casino, all of our great sponsors and the players for making the 2017 Washington Open Invitational and Pro-Am benefiting Folds of Honor so successful. Host PGA professionals Greg Manley and Koll Farman did an excellent job along with Craig Benson and his grounds crew staff. We look forward to returning to Meridian Valley CC in 2018 for the 92nd Washington Open Invitational.

Final results: https://2017secmuckleshootwa.golfgenius.com