Huddleston wins WA Golf Men’s Amateur Championship

MOSES LAKE — Woodland native Dane Huddleston’s score of 66 in the final round was enough for him to capture a title at last week’s WA Golf Men’s Amateur Championship at The Links at Moses Pointe, finishing with a total gross score of 202 and three strokes ahead of the runner-up.

“I won the Royal Oaks invitational a couple weeks ago, so that gave me some momentum,” Huddleston said. “Games were feeling good this week, I think the key was my driving; kept it in the fairway, golf’s just easier when you’re in the fairway. Got the putter rolling the end of round two, and carried that over today.”

Huddleston lowered his score each day of the three-day amateur championship — he shot a 69 in the first round, a 67 in the second round and a 66 in Thursday’s final round.

“Rolling the putter good and keeping the driver in the fairway,” Huddleston said of what allowed to lower his scores from day to day. “It’s easier in the fairway when you can attack all the bends. It was a good week, it was fun.”

The 19-year-old entered Thursday’s final round two strokes behind second-round leader Jackson Suh from Bellvue. Following his game plan on the final day of competition, Huddleston posted eight birdies and two bogeys on Thursday. Huddleston and Max Herendeen, who were in the same pairing, battled it out on the course to try and take the top spot.

“I just trusted my game plan, didn’t do anything out of the ordinary,” Huddleston said. “I made bogey on seven, and was one down for a little while. Had a nice swing on 12 and made birdie, Max (Herendeen) made bogey. Just kept my head down and take it one shot at a time, that was my plan.”

On Thursday, Herendeen had a one-shot lead over Huddleston after shooting a 32 on the front nine, but Huddleston shot a 33 to Herendeen’s 37 on the back nine.

“(On) 17 I had a nice two-putt from 50 feet, that was big,” Huddleston said. “On 18, I kind of just played safe golf. Lay it up from 250, which I don’t usually do. Made par on 18 — I knew I had a little bit of a cushion, I just had to make pars.”

To the victor go the spoils — Huddleston received an invitation to the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota with the win. He also receives an exemption into the 2024 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, the 2025 Washington Champion of Champions, the 2025 Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship and a lifetime exemption into the Washington Men’s Amateur Championship. The top three finishers — Huddleston, Herendeen and Benjamin Borgida of Shoreline — receive an exemption into the final stage qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship. 

“The main thing is I’m excited to go to US Amateur in August, that’ll be fun,” Huddleston said. “Getting my name on the trophy, that’ll be awesome — there’s some great names (on the trophy).”

Huddleston said this is the first time he’s golfed in Moses Lake. He noted the greens as a standout point about the course.

“They’re really grainy, so kind of a different style of green than I’m used to — I play on Poa annua greens a lot and these are grainy, so you have to take into account the grain of the greens and which way your putts are breaking,” Huddleston said. “That was a little different to me. The course was really firm — you get the ball rolling in the fairway, and it rolls quite a ways.”

Local golfers Paul Mitzel from Quincy and Jacob Rawley both made the cut for Thursday’s final round. Mitzel finished tied for 17th with a total score of 213 while Rawley tied for 36th with a total score of 220.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Bellvue’s Max Herendeen finished in second place of the WA Golf Men’s Amateur Championship last week, posting a total gross score of 205.
  

    Jackson Suh of Bellvue had the lowest score of the week, shooting a 64 in the second round of last week’s WA Golf Men’s Amateur Championship.
  

    Jace Minni, from Delta, BC, tees off at the WA Golf Men’s Amateur Championship last week. Minni tied for fifth place with a score of 210.