James Leow wins the 55th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
Championship Links:
NEWS FROM THE FINAL ROUND
Portland, Ore. – James Leow of Singapore shot rounds of 69-67-65-68 to win the 55th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, hosted this week at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.
“I’m really excited to get the win,” said Leow, “it’s been a while, I’ve been competing and my golf has been a little up-and-down, but it’s always good to play some good golf down the stretch of the week.”
Leow entered the day in a tie for first place with Caleb Surratt of Knoxville, Ten., and the two were paired together in the final round along with Sam Choi of Albuquerque, N.M.
Leow and Surratt were neck and neck the entire final round, both players got around the front nine in even par and they stood on the tenth tee tied for the lead. They both made birdie on 10, Leow made birdie on 11, and then Surratt tied it back up with a birdie on 12. They matched pars on 13 and then both birdied No. 14.
On the 15th hole, Surratt made bogey while Leow made par to take a one-shot lead. Then on the 16th hole, Leow gave it right back with a bogey of his own, and the two players were tied again.
On the par-4 17th hole, both players hit the green in regulation. Leow got in for par while Surratt made bogey. This gave Leow a one-up advantage with one to play over Surratt and Sam Choi, who birdied the 17th to climb back in it.
After a perfect tee shot on the par-4 18th, Leow stuck his second shot to four feet and he drained the birdie putt for the win to finish at 15-under for the championship.
“I didn’t check my phone, but I had a rough idea of where I was at and where the other two (Surratt and Choi) were at,” said Leow. “Down the stretch it was really tight with Sam making a comeback and Caleb chasing after me too, it was a great match and I had so much fun out there.”
Click here to watch the full video interview with James Leow.
Leow, who is 25-years old, is the No. 115-ranked player in the world (WAGR) and he just finished up his senior season as a member of the Arizona State University men’s golf team. He played on the International team in the 2022 Palmer Cup and he’ll be playing in both the Western Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship later this summer.
“This reassures me that I’ve been practicing hard and I’m moving in the right direction,” said Leow, “my next event is the Western Amateur where all the top amateurs in the world are going to play, so it just reassures me that I have what it takes to compete against the best. I can win the Western Amateur, too.”
Finishing in a tie for second place, two shots back at 13-under par, are Caleb Surratt and Sam Choi. Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ontario finished in fourth place and Brady McKinlay of Lacombe, Alberta finished in fifth.
NOTABLE
- The low score of the final round was a 7-under 64, carded by Brian Stark of Kingsburg, Calif.
- Six players shot under par in all four rounds of the championship; James Leow, Sam Choi, Matthew Anderson, Brady McKinlay, Carson Barry of Eagle, Idaho and Luke Clanton of Miami, Fla.
- 30 players out of the 87 player field finished the championship at even-par or better
- The 420-yard par-4 17th hole played as the hardest hole in today’s final round, the scoring average on the hole was 4.31.
About Columbia Edgewater Country Club
Opened in July 1925 along the banks of the Columbia River that separates the states of Oregon and Washington, Columbia Edgewater Country Club was designed by Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame architect Arthur Vernon Macan, who designed many of the Northwest’s premier courses. During its 97-year history, Columbia Edgewater has been the site of numerous championships and events, including the PGA TOUR’s Portland Open, the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic and Portland Classic, U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying and the Oregon Amateur. More information about the club can be found at www.cecc.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.
About the Elite Amateur Golf Series
Launched in 2022 to challenge “The Best of the Best” in amateur golf, the Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS) aligns the top amateur championships in a collective competition, the Elite Amateur Cup. In addition to hosting the best players, Elite Amateur Cup events are contested at renowned venues and have the longest history of identifying the next great champions of the game. EAGS events hold a proven track record of conducting the most challenging competitive tests, making the championships among the majors of amateur golf. The seven founding championships that comprise the series have a distinguished history hosting the top talent and competitive play in amateur golf. These championships are the Sunnehanna Amateur, Northeast Amateur, North & South Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Southern Amateur, Pacific Coast Amateur and the Western Amateur. For more information visit eliteamateurgolfseries.org.
Please note a correction to yesterday’s recap – Caleb Surratt’s third round of 7-under par 64 did not tie the men’s competitive course record at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. The men’s competitive course record belongs to Alex Wrenn, who shot a 61 in final round of qualifying at the 2020 Oregon Amateur.