Northwest Notes June 21, 2024

NIC's Grove earns NWAC golf coaching honors 

Russell Grove of North Idaho College was named Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in both men’s golf and women’s golf, after leading the Cardinals to a sweep of the conference tournament titles this spring.

The Cardinals men's golf team claimed its sixth straight championship, becoming the first program to win six championships in a row since Everett won nine straight from 1947-1956 (there was no conference golf season in 1952). NIC’s men won in 2017, ‘18 and 19, as well as 2022-24 (spring sports were canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, and there was no conference golf tournament in ‘21 due to COVID). This year, the NIC men won the title by 13 strokes. 

The North Idaho women's team won its second title all-time and first since 2016. It is the first time a school has won both titles in the same year since 2011 when Community Colleges of Spokane took home both trophies. The Cardinal women won by 30 strokes with its top five finishing third through seventh. 

Chambers Bay to host 2028 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash., has been selected by the USGA as the host site for the 2028 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. 

This will be the seventh USGA championship awarded to the public golf course in its 17-year history. Chambers Bay is owned by Pierce County and managed by KemperSports. The dates of the event are May 20-24.

The club has previously hosted four USGA championships — the 2010 U.S. Amateur won by Peter Uihlein, the 2015 U.S. Open won by Jordan Spieth, the 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball won by Florida teenagers Kiko Francisco Coelho and Leopoldo Herrera III and the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur won by Saki Baba. Chambers Bay will also host the 2027 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2033 U.S. Amateur.  

The Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, which opened in 2007, traverses a rugged landscape along Puget Sound. The 250-acre course, built on the site of a former sand-and-gravel mining operation, is the centerpiece of a 930-acre park owned by Pierce County.

The 2028 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will be the 31st USGA championship held in the state of Washington. The Evergreen State most recently hosted the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball at The Home Course in Dupont, which will also serve as the stroke play co-host during the Four-Ball in 2028 and will host the 2024 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle later this summer.

The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship is open to teams (or sides) of amateurs, with each player’s handicap index not exceeding 5.4. There are no age restrictions and partners are not required to be from the same club, state or country. The USGA accepted 2,638 entries (5,276 players) for the 2024 championship, the most entries since the championship began in 2015.

This year’s championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon Course) in Flourtown, Pa., from May 25-29 and won by Arizona residents Brian Blanchard, 31, and his 29-year-old partner Sam Engel. The 2025 championship will take place next May at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.