The Club Championship Sweet 16 Is Set
On Saturday, June 6th, the West Seattle Club Championships kicked off with the 18-hole qualifier — 51 golfers playing medal play for 16 spots in the seeded match play bracket. It was a cool, blustery morning with spotty rain, and the course was in primo condition.
This field is tested from the black tees. Historically, a score in the 70s makes the Sweet 16, and this year the cut fell at 78.
Then the real work begins. Immediately, your first match is on the box: 8 golfers will eliminate the other 8. So after one day we are already down to the quarterfinals, and our eventual champion will have to win 3 more matches.
As it turned out, Garrett Gants was the low medalist and #1 seed with his 2-under-par 70. Among the other notables, reigning champ Milo Stover qualified and drew 3-time champion Jake McRoberts in a rematch of last year's final. Other former champions who qualified include Andrew Coghill, Patrick DiStefano, Sean Packer, and the legendary David Shumann.
Board members Dan Kramlich, Chandler St Louis, and Brendan Hopps made it, as did longtime members Eric Dunkel and Brian Sherick. Newer to the club and into the Sweet 16 were Kelsey Scott, Andy Wood, Jake Utley, and Bryce Logan.
The Final Eight
Afternoon matches left us with this formidable quarterfinal bracket:
- Garrett Gants vs. Pat DiStefano
- Milo Stover vs. Andrew Coghill
- Eric Dunkel vs. Brendan Hopps
- Andy Wood vs. Sean Packer
These matches will be played over the next several weeks, culminating in a 36-hole final.