Washington State's Christian 'Pono' Yanagi lands spot in U.S. Amateur with rounds of 65-65 at Palouse Ridge
Jul. 13—Washington State's Christian "Pono" Yanagi, playing on home turf Wednesday at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, earned medalist honors at a U.S. Amateur qualifier.
Yanagi fired a pair of 65s for a 10-under 130. The native of Hilo, Hawaii, had 11 birdies and just one bogey on WSU's home course.
Craig Ronne, who played at the University of Oregon, also qualified following rounds of 66-66.
Yanagi and Ronne claimed the two berths available in the 84-player field. Both advanced to the 123rd U.S. Amateur, which will be Aug. 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club near Denver. Roughly 8,000 players have attempted to qualify.
Mt. Spokane High grad Gunnar Knutson, who plays at Weber State, shared third place at 6-under 134. Gonzaga's Zach Stocker, a Central Valley High grad, shot 63-72 and tied for fifth. Former Cougar Paul Mitzel (67-69) tied for seventh.
Yanagi won the Washington Men's Amateur earlier this month by six strokes at Wine Valley in Walla Walla. He shot 72-63-67 to finish at 14 under.
He capped his senior season at WSU with a third-place finish — the best in program history — at the Pac-12 Championship in April. He finished at 12-under 268 with scores of 68-66-68-66, a school record at the conference tournament.
Gonzaga's Jace Minni qualified for the U.S. Amateur earlier this month by placing third at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.
