Chambers Bay Set To Host 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2021-07-24
Chambers Bay, the 7,375 yard, par-71 golf course in University Place, Wash., will host many of the best amateur golfers in the world this week for the 54th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.
Championship Links:
This year’s championship had been scheduled to be held at historic Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C., but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to find a venue in the U.S.
Last year’s championship, which had also been scheduled to be held at Royal Colwood, was canceled completely due to the pandemic.
The Pacific Coast Amateur routinely attracts players from around the world with resumés boasting illustrious victories in other jewel amateur golf events. It remains the West Coast’s elite-level event that is circled on all amateur golf calendars in North America and around the globe. The Pacific Coast Amateur has regularly received an “A” strength ranking by the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), provided by The R&A and USGA.
Recent champions include Aaron Wise (2015), Will Zalatoris (2016), Doug Ghim (2017), Isaiah Salinda (2018) and Quade Cummins (2019). Other past champions that went on to have success on the PGA Tour include Andrew Putnam, Michael Putnam, Jason Gore, Billy Mayfair and Ben Crane, among others. Ghim and Wise are currently in the top 70 on the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Standings.
In 2019, Cummins held off an elite field to win the 53rd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico. Cummins was named to the 2021 U.S. Walker Cup team and recently earned automatic professional status by finishing No. 6 in the PGA Tour U rankings.
Notable players in this year’s elite field include:
- Sam Bennett of Madisonville, TX, the No. 6-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who played in 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup. He was a semifinalist for the 2021 Ben Hogan Award and was named to the 2021 All-SEC team, playing for Texas A&M.
- Bo Jin of Encinitas, CA, the No. 16-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who played in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup. He finished 2nd in the 2021 NCAA D1 Championship.
- Dylan Menante of La Costa, CA, the No. 20-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who played in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup. He won the 2021 Northeast Amateur and was a member of the winning team at the 2021 NCAA D1 Championship (Pepperdine).
- Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, WA, the No. 35-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who competed in the 2021 U.S. Open. He made the Round of 8 at the 2021 North & South Amateur and was a member of the winning team at the 2021 NCAA D1 Championship (Pepperdine).
- Preston Summerhays of Scottsdale, AZ, the No. 86-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who won the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur. Just last week he competed in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.
- Devon Bling of Ridgecrest, CA, the No. 91-ranked amateur in the world (WAGR), who was runner-up in the 2018 U.S. Amateur. He played in the 2019 Masters and was one of four amateurs to make the cut.
Click here to view the full list of confirmed players.
Much of the recent success of the championship can be directly attributed to the quality of the venue, and 2021 will continue that tradition. Chambers Bay opened in 2007, and has already held such high-profile events as the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, 2013 and 2020 Washington Amateur championships, and numerous collegiate events. Prior to this year’s Pacific Coast Amateur, Chambers Bay hosted 6th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on May 22-26. In 2022 the course will host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
“We are honored to welcome the return of the Pacific Coast Amateur to Chambers Bay,” said Zac Keener, general manager of Chambers Bay. “We are ready to test the incredible caliber of players attracted to this event and crown another champion in 2021. We are thankful to the Pacific Coast Golf Association for their consideration and to Pierce County for their commitment to host championship golf at Chambers Bay.”
“The brief but rich history of Chambers Bay makes it an ideal venue for this championship,” said Troy Andrew, executive director of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. “As it has in the past, it will do its part in identifying the best player as champion. The quality of our field and our ability to continuously recruit the game’s best amateurs is directly attributed to the reputation and quality of the venue selected to host. We are extremely grateful to Chambers Bay, Pierce County Parks, and the Pierce County Executive’s office for their continued support and hosting this championship again.”
About Chambers Bay
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2007, Chambers Bay is a links-style layout along the shores of Puget Sound. The venue made history by hosting the first U.S. Open ever held in the Pacific Northwest, in 2015. It has also been the site of the 2010 U.S. Amateur, and this year hosted the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Chambers Bay is a municipal facility, owned by Pierce County, and is open to the public. The facility has been designated by Audubon International as a Silver Signature Sanctuary, the first golf course in the Pacific Northwest to receive this certification. More information can be found at chambersbaygolf.com.
About the Pacific Coast Golf Association
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in North America. The first tournament was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio in 1901. After being played until 1911, the Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club in 1967. Today, 15 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association.