42nd Pacific Coast Amateur

The field for the 42nd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship plays at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada August 5-8, 2008.

The 72-hole, stroke-play invitational features 87 top players from the Western United States and Canada. The tournament rotates to courses throughout the region; this marks the fourth time that it has been played in Canada and the second time in the last five years (2003 at Capilano Golf & Country Club in Vancouver).

The entire field plays 18 holes each day, with starting times beginning at 8:00 a.m. from the first and 10th tees. Live scoring, stories and photos will be at www.pacificcoastamateur.com.

Concurrent with the first two rounds of stroke play is the annual Morse Cup team competition. Each of the 16 associations that comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association (which sponsors the championship) name three players for their Morse Cup team; the best two of three scores in each round count for the team total.

The other 39 players in the field are chosen by invitation based on their playing record.

Several notables will play in this year's event including incoming University of Oregon freshman Eugene Wong of North Vancouver. Wong captured the 2008 British Columbia Amateur title earlier this year as wll as the Callaway Junior World title just two weeks ago.

Also teeing it up will be defending champion Michael Knight of Calgary, Alberta. The 22-year-old Knight rallied from two shots behind with seven holes to play to win the 41st Pacific Coast Amateur by one shot last year at San Diego CC in San Diego, Calif. His final-round 68 enabled him to become the first Alberta resident and second Canadian to win the title (James Lepp of Abbotsford, BC, shattered tournament records for single round and 72-hole total when he won at Capilano in 2003).

Last year's Canadian Amateur champion Nick Taylor, 22 of Abbotsford, BC, will also be in the field, and next week he will defend his title at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge, Alberta. Taylor also tied for runner-up honors in the 2008 NCAA Division I individual championship and qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course last month at a sectional qualifier conducted by the Oregon Golf Association.

Other notable entrants include
• Darren Hupfer of Edmonton, AB, 2008 Alberta Open Match Play champion
• Pat Grady of Broomfield, CO, 2007 Colorado Match Play champion
• Mike DeBoard of Boise, ID, 2008 Idaho Match Play champion
• Brady Exber of Las Vegas, 2008 Nevada Amateur champion
• Michael Karlberg of Truckee, CA, 2007 Nevada Amateur champion
• Josh Anderson of Murrieta, CA, 2007 California Amateur champion
• Nick Delio of Valencia, CA, 2008 California Amateur champion
• Matt Hoffenberg of Simi Valley, CA 2008 Southwestern Amateur champion
• Dan Horner of Sandy, UT, 2008 Utah Amateur champion
• Richard Lee of Bellevue, WA, 2008 Washington State Amateur champion
• Ryan Hallisey of Granite Bay, CA, 2007 Northern California GA Amateur champion
• Jarin Todd of Woodinville, WA, two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year
• Steve White of Jackson, Wyoming, 2008 Wyoming Amateur champion
• Dan Whittaker of Cle Elum, WA, runner-up in last year's U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship (held at Bandon Dunes Resort)

For a complete list of the entrants, log onto www.pacificcoastamateur.com

ABOUT ROYAL COLWOOD GC
Designed by Arthur Vernon Macan in 1913, Royal Colwood is a traditional-style parklands
championship course set amongst 450-year-old Douglas Firs and majestic Garry Oaks. John Dunn in Travel and Leisure Golf recently wrote, "If Victoria Golf Club is the town's Pebble Beach, then Royal Colwood is its Winged Foot," referring to the famed New York club that has hosted numerous U.S. Opens. One of 68 courses in the world to be named "Royal" (just five are in Canada), Royal Colwood received its designation from King George V in 1931.

ABOUT THE PACIFIC COAST AMATEUR HISTORY
Although it began in 1900, the Pacific Coast Amateur was revived after a decades-long hiatus in 1967, primarily to provide a showcase for players seeking recognition for the U.S. Walker Cup teams (39 players have competed in the Pacific Coast Amateur by golfers who also played on Walker Cup teams).

Since 1967, the championship has been won by many golfers who have gone onto prominent professional careers, including current PGA Tour members Ben Crane, who won in 1998; Jason Gore (1997) and Todd Demsey (1993); Champions Tour member Mark Johnson (1994); Nationwide Tour members Alex Prugh (2005) and Michael Putnam (2004); and noted golf course designer John Fought (1975).