Paton Runner-Up at Oregon Amateur
Courtesy of Oregon Golf Association
ANBY, Ore. -- University of Oregon junior-to-be Jack Paton reached the finals of the the 101st Oregon Amateur but had to settle for runner-up as former Oregon State golfer Paul Peterson of Salem, Ore. took home the trophy with a 4 and 2 win.
Peterson’s opening round was 2-under par 70 on the 7,175-yard layout, good enough to be 3-up going into the afternoon round. He finished the day at even par for the holes played, but had to survive a rally from Paton, a left-hander rom Hillsborough, Calif.
On holes 9 to 11, Paton went birdie-birdie-par and was only 1-down with 7 holes left to play.
On the par-3 13th hole, with the hole tucked far right and behind the pond, Peterson nearly holed his tee shot and walked away with a conceeded birdie to return to 2-up. A miscue bogey by Paton on the lengthy 227-yard par-3 15th hole left Peterson dorme 3, and then on the signature par-4 16th hole, Paton pulled his tee shot into the trees on the left. The hole was tucked ont he top left tier and he had no shot at getting it there. His only option was to shoot for the right side of the green where he would be 100+ feet to the hole.
Peterson, on the other hand, placed his tee shot perfectly, and he landed his approach within 10 feet of the hole. Like Vaughn, he just didn’t want to walk away the victor by halving the hole so he slid a left to right breaker into the center of the hole and punctuated his title with a closing birdie, adding Oregon Amateur Champion to his 2009 Oregon Men’s Stroke Play title.
The Oregon Amateur Championship, administered by the Oregon Golf Association, is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur sporting competitions in the state. While many state Championships have become stroke play competitions, the Oregon Amateur, one of the nation’s oldest, remains true to its roots playing the same traditional match play format that’s used to this day to determine the best amateur champions even at the national level. It’s also one of the few men’s and women’s amateurs held concurrently, always played at the same time at the same site. It is held only at the finest golf courses and historically showcases some of the most talented amateur golfers in the Northwest.
