Monday, July 10, 2017
CLE ELUM, Wash. – The top men’s golfer currently in the GNAC and one of the top players in conference history have earned the right to play in next month’s U.S. Amateur Championship.
Simon Fraser’s Chris Crisologo and former Western Washington standout Jake Koppenberg both earned qualifiying spots in a U.S. Amateur qualifying tournament held on July 6 at the Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash.
Crisologo, the reigning GNAC Player of the Year and named a PING First Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), earned medalist honors in the two-round tournament by one stroke over Charles Reiter. Crisologo shot 4-under-par 140, which included a first round score of 3-under-par 69. He had seven birdies in the two rounds and was over par on just three of his 36 holes. In the second round, Crisologo was one of just two players in the 78-man field to break par on a very hot day.
Koppenberg, who was the 2008 and 2009 GNAC Player of the Year, earned the third and final qualifying spot after making par on a one-hole sudden death playoff with William Mansfield. Koppenberg and Mansfield tied with a two-round score of 1-under-par 143. Koppenberg matched Crisologo in the first round with a 3-under-par 69, which included six birdies. He had a total of nine birdies for the tournament.
Koppenberg, who also qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2015, currently works as a volunteer assistant for the Western Washington golf programs, where he has helped the Vikings’ men to the 2017 GNAC team championship.
The 2017 U.S. Amateur Championships take place from August 14-20 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Crisologo and Koppenberg are among 312 players advancing to the championship out of of a total of 7,149 players initially accepted to play in qualifying tournaments. The first two rounds of the tournament will be stroke play with the top 64 players advancing to match play over the final five days of the tournament.
Information from the Washington State Golf Association was used in this report.