POR Veteran’s Day Open – ELEVATED

The Portland Amateur Players Tour returned to The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club’s South Course on Saturday, November 7 in Hillsboro, Oregon, for the Veteran’s Day Open — an Elevated Event and one of the marquee Portland amateur golf tournaments on the late-fall calendar. A field of 28 players competed across four divisions, with the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net games running alongside and over $500 in prize money on the line.

Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index, and on this Saturday three of the day’s six trophies left the state, with a trio of Seattle chapter members making the trip south and two of them walking off with division titles.

The South Course is a traditional American layout, routed through mature stands of Oregon trees over naturally rolling terrain, with more than 60 gleaming white sand bunkers waiting on anything loose. The par-72 track measures anywhere from 4,001 to 7,172 yards and carries real championship pedigree, having hosted both the Fred Meyer Challenge and the JELD-WEN Tradition. Its two signature tests both bared their teeth: the 605-yard par-5 6th, which asks players to negotiate no fewer than eight strategically placed fairway and greenside bunkers, and the 473-yard par-4 17th, framed by water down the left side and a distinctive double green shared with the 11th. The 17th was the toughest hole on the property by a clear margin — it gave up not a single birdie all day and played better than a shot and a third over par. The one genuine opportunity came early, at the par-5 3rd, the most generous hole on the card at just over a half-shot above par.

Division 2 produced both the drama and the day’s low numbers. Andrew Black and Kristian Alexander, both of Seattle, Washington, matched cards at 4-over 76 — the low rounds of the day in the entire field — and 18 holes would not be enough to decide a champion. Black took the title in sudden death. Getting there was the hard part. Alexander, who birdied that friendly par-5 3rd and turned in 1-over 37, was two clear after six holes and had stretched the margin to three through twelve. Black answered where it mattered most, playing the last six holes in even par with birdies at the par-3 14th and the par-5 18th to come home in 1-over 37 and force the tie. Ten pars against two birdies told the story of a round that never got away from him. Daniel — scratch that — the next man home signed for 79, three back of the playoff pair.

Division 3 belonged to Gene Franco of Tumwater, Washington, who turned patience into a two-shot win with a 9-over 81. Franco never made a birdie and never needed one: he collected 11 pars and limited the damage to five bogeys, going out in 3-over 39 before coming home in 6-over 42. He was actually chasing early, trailing Fred Corona Jr. of Gresham, Oregon by two after six holes, and the pair were dead level through twelve. Franco edged a shot clear by the 15th and never gave it back. Corona Jr., whose lone birdie came at the par-5 3rd, finished at 11-over 83 and shared runner-up honors with Niranjan Shrestha of Portland, Oregon, also at 83. Shrestha hung within a shot of the lead through twelve before slipping four back by the 15th, then played the last three holes in even par to round out the money positions. Three players finished within two strokes of one another at the top.

Division 4 came down to the closing stretch, and Marcus Lowe of Camas, Washington, was the one who held. Lowe’s 6-over 78 was the third-lowest round in the field — only the two 76s in Division 2 bettered it — and it was built on a tidy 1-over 37 on the front and a dozen pars in all. Jesus Jared Soria of Beaverton, Oregon pushed him the whole way. Soria, who picked up his birdie at the par-4 8th and turned in 2-over 38, was one back after six and two back after twelve, then drew dead level with three holes to play. Lowe played those last three in 2-over to Soria’s 3-over, and that single stroke was the difference. Soria signed for 7-over 79 and runner-up honors.

Division 5 was just as tight for just as long. Zac York of Vancouver, Washington, led from the front but never by much, with Alfred Hughes of Beaverton, Oregon within one after six holes, two after twelve and back to one with three to play. York closed in 1-over across the final three to pull away for an 18-over 90 and a four-shot win. Hughes took second at 22-over 94.

Lowe was not finished. He completed the double-dip in the Mid-Am Net, posting a net 8-under 64 to win by four — and it was a finish every bit as pointed as his gross win. Alexander had the better of him for most of the afternoon, level through six, a shot to the good after twelve and two clear with three holes to play. Lowe closed the gap and then some over the final stretch, swinging the race six shots in three holes. Alexander’s net 4-under 68 tied him for second with Soria, also at net 4-under 68, who matched his Division 4 runner-up finish in the net game. Three players finished within five of the lead.

The Senior Net went the other way entirely. Craig Campbell of Portland, Oregon won it by a single stroke with a net 2-under 70, and he had to earn every bit of it. Franco, already a division winner on the day, was a shot ahead after six, a shot behind after twelve, and then two clear again with three holes to play. Campbell found three strokes over the closing stretch to take the title, with Franco second at net 1-under 71 to cap a second trip to the pay window. It was the deepest contest on the property: five players finished within five shots of the lead and six within seven.

Next up in the Portland chapter — the POR Thanksgiving Open on Saturday, November 21. Space is limited and registration closes November 15.