Green Wins 105th PNGA Men’s Amateur

Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., defeated Erik Olson of Newcastle, Wash, 9 and 7 in the 36-hole final of the 105th PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship. The event was played at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, B.C.

Green, a 2001 U.S. Walker Cup Team member and the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, went 6-under par – including a bogey – over the first 18 holes of the match. His seven birdies came on hole Nos. 3, 6, 8, 10, 14, 15 and 18. After the initial 18, Green was 6 up on Olson, a member of the University of Washington golf team. If this were a stroke-play event, Green would have come within one stroke of the competitive course record of 6-under par 64, which was set last year by PGA Tour player Stephen Ames in the Bell Canadian Open.

In the second half of the match, Green continued his domination, making a birdie on the 20th hole to go 7 up. The match was never easy for Olson, though he had a glimpse at a comeback when he birdied the 22nd hole. But Green turned up the heat again and won hole Nos. 25, 27 and 29 to close out the match early.

The 48-year-old Green is the oldest player in the past half century to win the PNGA Men’s Amateur and, until confirmed by PNGA historians, may be the oldest player in the 105 years of the championship. Green, who gained entry into the tournament as a Presidential Invite, boasts an outstanding amateur career. His other accomplishments include: a three-time Tennessee Amateur champion; 2001 U.S. Public Links finalist; 1989 U.S. Amateur finalist; and four-time Tennessee Mid-Amateur champion. Green has played in the Masters twice, missing the cut by one stroke in 2000.

Some of the past champions of the PNGA Men’s Amateur include Tiger Woods (1994), Ben Crane (1997), Jeff Quinney (1998), and Nick Flanagan (2003), each of whom went on to win the U.S. Amateur.