Tournament Recap

Round 1 Recap

HOST COURSE MEMBERS STAND ATOP LEADERBOARDS

PORTLAND, ORE. (Saturday, June 7, 2008) – The players were ready for sunshine, but it’s parade day for the Rose Festival and the weather forecast is typically not summer-like at the 11th Oregon Public Links Championship that began today at Eastmoreland Golf Course in Portland, Ore.

With the strength of players hailing from the host course Men’s and Women’s clubs, Eastmoreland members stood atop all the leaderboards.

In the Men’s Division, Chad Sawyer of Wilsonville, Ore. had the only under par score of the day with a 1-under par 34-37—71 to take a 1-stroke lead over Jason Wood of Portland, Ore. On the Net side of the competition, Orlando Moreno of Portland, Ore. had a gross score of 7-over par 79, but his 12 handicap gave him the lead at 5-under par 67. All are members of the Eastomoreland Men’s Club.

Among the Women, Donna Olexio-Smoot of Beaverton, Ore. had a 5-over par 41-36—77 to take a commanding lead over the rest of the field. She leads Tualatin, Ore.’s Shu-Yin Liu by 6-strokes and teenager Sharon Shin of West Linn, Ore. by 7 shots. While none of these players are members at Eastmoreland, Helen “Rusty” Beckel honored her home course with a 45-41—86, and with her 11 course handicap, she is tied for the Net competition lead at 3-over par.

This 36-hole stroke play competition is open to both Men and Women amateur golfers with USGA Handicap Indexes of 36.4 or less (for Men) and 40.4 or less (for Women). Each player’s course handicap is used to compute their Net score, so players of all abilities can compete on a level playing field.

First established in 1998, the Public Links Championship is the only tournament that does not allow Private Club Members to participate. It is only open to those members of the Oregon Golf Association who have been bona fide public course players and have not held a membership at any course that does not extend playing privileges to the general public. The majority of OGA members come from public clubs.

Eastmoreland Golf Course, established in 1918, is owned and maintained by the City of Portland and is one of the oldest public golf courses in the country. Designed by H. Chandler Egan, the acclaimed designer of Pebble Beach Golf Links, it has hosted both the 1933 and 1990 United States Public Links Championships. Egan was a member of the Oregon Golf Association, and represented the region in the 1934 Walker Cup.

OGA member clubs are comprised of more than 50,000 avid golfers responsible for more than 2 million rounds of golf and a direct annual economic impact exceeding $250 million (more than seventy-five percent of the golf rounds played in the region).

The Oregon Golf Association is unique in that it is one of the few amateur golf associations that include men, women, and junior golfers from both public and private clubs. In addition to its responsibilities as the governing body for the sport in the region, the OGA is one of just eight amateur golf associations to own and operate a golf course.