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USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kevin VandenBerg, Pat O'Donnell go low at Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur
The night before the final round of the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur, Kevin VandenBerg spent more than a half hour on the practice putting green. Despite feeling like he had made hardly any putts all week, VandenBerg was only four off the lead. 'Made a little adjustment in my ball position on my putting and I putted very well today,' VandenBerg said Thursday after making five birdies in his final six holes to win the tournament by four shots. 'That was the difference.' VandenBerg finished 54 holes at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington, at 6 under. His final-round 67 catapulted him ahead of second-round leader Craig Larson from Kapalua, Hawaii. Larson, who won the inaugural Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior back in 2022, was 2 under after rounds of 71-68-75. 'The putter really kicked in on the back side,' VandenBerg said of his final round, though he also gave himself plenty of good birdie looks in the closing holes. 'Amazingly, yesterday, Craig made everything and I putted like him today. I think he made like 160 feet of putts yesterday and I think I made about that today.' Wine Valley, which hosted U.S. Open Final Qualifying last month, is a second-shot golf course with many holes featuring multiple sight lines. A player can be out of position and still have a chance to recover. VandenBerg last played this tournament in 2023, and relishes both the layout and the peaceful backdrop. 'It's a fun golf course,' VandenBerg said. 'The better you know the greens when you're hitting into them, you can kind of use the slope to direct your ball to the hole if the hole is in a bowl or near an edge where it will roll up against it and come back down.' VandenBerg began the year with a win at the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic. He felt his game went a little downhill after beginning the year well so the victory at Wine Valley was welcome. VandenBerg put new Callaway irons into play earlier in the spring to great effect and also feels that the extra attention he has put on his tee shots is beginning to pay off. For now, VandenBerg is trying to build to a crescendo as the U.S. Senior Amateur approaches next month. He'll play a few smaller events in addition to the Sunnehanna Senior Amateur in the meantime. Players certainly benefit from experience at Wine Valley, and VandenBerg noted that he hit some shots in the final round that went into the memory banks for next year's tournament. Plenty of local Pacific Northwest talent rose to the top of the leaderboard in all three divisions of the Golfweek event, like Portland's Greg Chianello, who was third in the Senior division at 1 under. That was especially true in the Super Senior division, where Pat O'Donnell of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Scott Masingill of Payette, Idaho, both finished at 6 under. The two men, who are in the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame and the Idaho Golf Association Hall of Fame, respectively, played all three rounds together at Wine Valley. They both posted rounds of 68-71-71 to stay neck-and-neck throughout regulation. As the final round began to draw to a close, O'Donnell keyed into the standings. Masingill has been inputting live scores and O'Donnell asked where they stood. O'Donnell birdied Nos. 17 and 18 and Masingill birdied No. 18. 'I've known Scott quite awhile. We play in some of the PNGA events against each other,' O'Donnell. 'Such a class guy.' O'Donnell claimed the title on the first playoff hole. 'It's hard to putt out here,' O'Donnell said when asked for an assessment of his play for the week. 'With it getting windy the last two days, it really was hard to get it close, at least for me. Some of the greens because of the pin placements, they were just hard to get it close. You hope you get it on 30, 40 feet and you've got a chance to two-putt. Played good enough, I didn't miss too many short putts – the 4 to 5 footers. That was kind of the key or the difference.' O'Donnell, at 71 years old, played up into the Super Senior division this week, which makes the victory all the more impressive. 'It's been awhile,' O'Donnell said when asked for the last title he won. 'That age thing creeps in.' This time last year, O'Donnell fired an opening 67 to lead the Golfweek PNW event only to have to withdraw later in the week because of a thoracic spine injury that knocked out most of his summer. 'My biggest goal was to get through three rounds of golf this year,' he said. The timing of the injury kept O'Donnell off the radar for the past year, but already this summer, he has played the Oregon Amateur, where he qualified for match play. He has a full slate of state tournaments lined up through the rest of the summer and fall. One of O'Donnell's annual goals in golf is to qualify for the Hudson Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event that pits Northwest pros against the region's top amateurs. He has played the event the past 18 years. In the Legends division, Dan Parkinson of Lehi, Utah, went wire-to-wire, finishing 8 over in his victory.
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Craig Larson surges to top of Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Am
After an opening day filled with plenty of low numbers at the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur, only one man got below 70 on moving day at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington – and that helped him leapfrog a handful of competitors all the way to the top of the Senior division. Craig Larson of Kapalua, Hawaii, leads his division by three shots after 36 holes at Wine Valley. Larson opened the 54-hole tournament with a 1-under 71 and then came back with a 4-under 68 on Wednesday. Larson had five birdies and made his sole bogey on the par-3 16th hole. This is familiar territory for Larson, who won the inaugural Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior back in 2022. On his way to that victory, Larson built a five-shot lead through 36 holes and ended up winning by four shots. Later that fall, Larson finished second at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Senior Amateur. More recently, Larson finished in the top 20 at the Trans-Miss Senior Amateur played in Southern California in May. He was runner-up at the Washington Senior Amateur Championship last month. Remarkably, in the latter event he fell on the third hole of a playoff when Paul Hogben made a hole-in-one for the title. Behind Larson – and still very much in striking distance – is Greg Chianello of Portland. He trails Larson by three shots at 2 under while Kevin VandenBerg of Pulaski, New York, is another shot back at 1 under. Juan Angel of Colombia, the world's second-best player in the 55-and-over category according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is even par after 36 holes. In the Super Senior division, not much changed after another 18 holes. Pat O'Donnell of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Scott Masingill of Payette, Idaho, still share the lead and now are at 5 under. Both men have posted rounds of 68-71. Jim Pliska, who owns Wine Valley Golf Club as well as Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Oregon, is lurking in third place at even par. Dan Parkinson of Lehi, Utah, leads the Legends division at 3 over after rounds of 74-73. He is three shots ahead of Gerry Graham from Mesa, Arizona.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Red numbers abound on opening day of Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur
On a picturesque, if warm, day in Washington's wine country, players had to score to contend at the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur. Perhaps no one embodied that better than Scott Masingill, the Payette, Idaho, native who is co-leading the Super Senior division. Masingill's card prompts a double-take. In the opening round at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington, Masingill started his day with nine 3s – birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie. In fact, he made 3 on half the holes he played for his 4-under 68. This is unsurprising from Masingill, whose golf life in the Pacific Northwest has been highlighted by a stout junior and college career, including the 1971 Pac-8 individual title while playing for Oregon State. He made a quick foray into professional senior golf but has since returned to the amateur game. Masingill was inducted into the Idaho Golf Association's Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2024. In 2019, the IGA named the state amateur trophy after him. He has won that event nine times in his life. At Wine Valley, Masingill shares the Super Senior lead with another PNW legend, however. Pat O'Donnell, a Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Famer, also fired an opening 68. Last year, O'Donnell opened this event with 67 for the lead. O'Donnell is familiar with Wine Valley through his good friend Jim Pliska, the course owner. Pliska, who is also in the field, is third in the Super Senior division after a 2-under 70. He had only one bogey for the day. Pliska runs Space Age Fuel, one of the largest independent fuel marketers in Oregon, and in addition to Wine Valley also owns Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Oregon. The latter course is home to the University of Oregon golf teams. Despite his busy work schedule, Pliska competes six or seven times a year and is constantly working on his game as he splits his time between the Pacific Northwest, Southern California and Las Vegas. 'My game, I can feel it's getting better but getting it consistently better,' Pliska told Golfweek this spring, 'it's still got work to be done.' Scores were also low in the Senior division, as co-leaders Donald Bidinger of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Chris Brauner of Middleton, Wisconsin, used rounds of 3-under 69 to climb to the top of the leaderboard. They lead Juan Angel, of Colombia, by a shot. Angel is the No. 2-ranked player in the 55-and-over category according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He has competed in the Latin America Amateur Championship the past three years and won several senior events in Colombia. Behind Angel, four players are tied for fourth at 1 under: Greg Chianello, Craig Larson, Kevin VandenBerg and Trent Gregory. Dan Parkinson of Lehi, Utah, and Gerry Graham of Mesa, Arizona, are tied atop the Legends division after rounds of 2-over 74. Parkinson is ranked No. 6 in Golfweek's National Senior Amateur Ranking for Legends players.
USA Today
29-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Juan Angel brings his game from Colombia to U.S. senior circuit for Golfweek PNW Senior
Even though Juan Angel has been playing golf since he was 9 years old, it's the little things that have come together recently. And those make all the difference. Angel, at 55 years old, is ranked No. 232 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and is the No. 2 player age 55 and over. He will compete this week in the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur, to be played July 1-3 at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington. As the summer plays out, expect to see a lot more of the talented Colombian. In other words, get to know the name – and what's behind this recent rise in his game. When he became eligible for the senior circuit in December, a whole new world opened to Angel, and he's taking advantage of it. He notes as he has become more disciplined in his practice, added some exercise and yoga and has begun eating better, sleeping better and prioritizing self-care, he's performing better on the golf course, too. Dating to 2023, Angel has won six national senior tour events in Colombia as well as the 2024 Senior National Championship there. All are WAGR-ranked events. In August, Angel will compete in the U.S. Senior Amateur for the first time. 'Without a doubt, it will be one of the most important moments in my golfing career,' he wrote in a message to Golfweek. When Angel competes, he tries to take in everything that's happening around him. That's especially important in a mixed field – whether that be mixed by age or experience level. Before crossing the country to Walla Walla, Angel competed in U.S. Senior Open final qualifying in South Florida. It was an eyes-wide-open experience as he joined a field of former PGA Tour players as well as amateurs from both the U.S. and Latin America. Angel still plays primarily in his native Colombia, where the father of three works in real estate and agriculture – and has no plans to retire. 'I enjoy working, but I have made an effort to free up a good amount of time to practice and to play some tournaments, especially in Colombia and the region,' Angel wrote to Golfweek. 'I now have a big dream and goal: to play, now that I am a Senior — I turned 55 last December — in some important tournaments in the United States, in Canada, in England, and I would also love to compete in South Africa, Australia, and Europe. Let's see how far we can go with this opportunity that life has given us to play senior golf at a high level. Angel doesn't take many lessons, but does, he said, occasionally work with instructors at his home course, Club Campestre Pereira. Competitive reps certainly build skill, and this is where Angel is careful to savor an experience. For the past three years, Angel has competed in the Latin America Amateur Championship, a joint initiative founded by the Masters Tournament, USGA and R&A that features the best golf talent from the region. The prestigious event has taken him from Puerto Rico to Panama to Argentina. 'For me and other Mid-Am and Senior players in the region, it has been a wonderful experience — one where I've learned a lot and been able to share the course with high-level players, generally much younger than us,' Angel wrote, 'It's been very interesting, and definitely very well-organized tournaments.' In the opening round of the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior, Angel will play beside Trent Gregory, winner of the 2024 Golfweek Senior National and recent repeat winner of the Estero Senior, and Stan Humphries, a former NFL quarterback who won the 2024 North & South Senior. The Senior division also includes Golfweek's No. 2-ranked senior, Kevin VandenBerg. The Super Senior division is highlighted by Wine Valley owner Jim Pliska as well as Pat O'Donnell, a Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Famer. The tournament includes a Legends and Super Legends division as well. The 54-hole event begins Tuesday.
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Golfweek Pacific Northwest Amateur returns to Wine Valley GC, where owner Jim Pliska will tee it up
Golfweek Pacific Northwest Amateur returns to Wine Valley GC, where owner Jim Pliska will tee it up It's important to Jim Pliska that there are opportunities for the top seniors in the Pacific Northwest to showcase their talent locally, get World Amateur Golf Ranking points and play with the best talent in the world. Luckily Pliska, the owner of two top courses in Washington and Oregon, is in a position to do something about that. Pliska runs Space Age Fuel, one of the largest independent fuel marketers in Oregon, and is also the owner of Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington, and Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Oregon. The courses, roughly 350 miles apart, frequently host championships – and that was one of Pliska's motivations for getting involved in the golf industry as a course owner. Tournaments range from Oregon Golf Association events to Pacific Northwest Golf Association events to college events, considering Emerald Valley is home to the University of Oregon Golf teams. Perhaps most notably, Wine Valley served as a U.S. Open Final Qualifying site on June 2. Next month, Wine Valley will host the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur for the fourth time. The 54-hole event draws top amateurs from around the country. Last year, former U.S. Senior Amateur champion Doug Hanzel took home the trophy. 'I like to give back in that respect because I feel supporting the competition and competitive golf helps overall golf in general,' Pliska said. 'I think it's such a great game I want to keep it in existence.' Pliska, at 66, is an accomplished player himself. He competes six or seven times a year and is constantly working on his game. Lately, that means working out daily and also working through swing issues with instructor Mike Mitchell in La Quinta, California. 'My game, I can feel it's getting better but getting it consistently better,' Pliska said, 'it's still got work to be done.' Pliska, who will tee it up at the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior, played on the University of Oregon roster for a year in the late 1970s after transferring in from Mt. Hood Community College. He continued to stay sharp in the game and has won the OGA Tournament of Champions a handful of times. Pliska, a veteran of several USGA championships, is still pursuing a U.S. Senior Amateur berth. As he works to get his game to the level that he can meet that goal, the majority of his time continues to go to Space Age. Meanwhile, the day-to-day of golf course operation largely falls to the general manager at each facility. 'I've got some good people that have worked for us for a long time,' Pliska said of his golf course staffs. And despite being hands-off in most respects, he's still involved in major decisions. Pliska's history with Emerald Valley goes back to his days at Oregon but Wine Valley, site of the Golfweek event, is a relatively new course. Wine Valley opened in 2009 and was designed by Dan Hixson. It is ranked No. 3 in the state of Washington on the Golfweek's Best Public Courses list and also appears on the Golfweek's Best Top 200 Modern Courses list. Pliska thinks golfers love playing Wine Valley because it's a challenging-but-fair layout. He calls it a second-shot golf course. Because many holes have multiple sight lines, a player can be out of position and still have a chance to recover. That there's no standard way to play the course is one thing that Pliska thinks makes it great. 'It gives you a lot of different opportunities out there,' he said. 'There's not a tree on the golf course so it's kind of open, big features, big greens, lot of movement on the greens. It's a fun course to play because you can play different shots, it's not standard shots – it's not a traditional golf course. It's more of the newer links type of golf course. I think the beauty of it, too, is great.' The Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur will be played July 1-3 at Wine Valley and registration remains open across all four divisions: Senior (age 55-64), Super Senior (Age 65-69), Legends (age 70-74) and Super Legends (age 75 and over).
