VANCOUVER, Wash. – Mitch Runge, PGA, and his assistant Shane Prante, PGA, of The Home Course, successfully defended their title at the PNWPGA Pro-Assistant Championship at Royal Oaks Country Club. The duo fired rounds of 63-66—129 in the four-ball format, securing a one-stroke victory over Persimmon Country Club’s Chad Fribley and Trevor Hiebing.
The championship featured 66 teams, each consisting of a head golf professional and their assistant, competing on Royal Oaks’ 6,605-yard, par-72 layout over two days.
The event was made possible through strong sponsor support, with Farmers Insurance – Jared Bouchey Agency serving as the Title Sponsor. Presenting Sponsors included Sally Schmitz (Bushnell Golf), Bryan Dickson (Sterling Cut Glass), Chris Gaines (Mizuno), Nick Bardino (KJUS), Jon Jacey (Evolve Golf), and Bud Garmany and Kim Welch (Garmany Golf). Supporting Sponsors included Matt Pollitt (PTE Golf) and newcomer Bob Berkey (Pearce Bespoke).
CLICK HERE to view the Pro-Assistant Championship final results
History of the Championship
The Pacific Northwest Pro-Assistant Championship got off to an exciting start in 1992. It took the Progress Downs team of Jerry Minor and Ralph West SEVEN holes of sudden-death to finally shake the Royal Oaks duo of Steve Bowen and Michael Wilkerson. After shooting 14-under at Tacoma Country and Golf Club, neither of the two teams could get a birdie putt to drop in the playoff. The 1995 Redwood Golf Center team of Scott Williams and Mike Barnett still holds the tournament record after scorching the rest of the field with an 18-under 126 at McCormick Woods GC and winning by three strokes. This championship, has fostering camaraderie between Head Professionals and Assistants, is one of the most popular events of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA. In 2008, Head PGA Professional Steve Prugh and his Assistant Corey Prugh made history by being the first father-son duo to capture the title.
CLICK HERE to view past team champions of this event.
Royal Oaks Country Club
Royal Oaks Country Club was organized in August 1945 by a group of 50 downtown Vancouver businessmen who wanted to make a dream come true. Each individual put up $1,000 and purchased 170 acres of land near Orchards – the home of the first nine holes. Royal Oaks was open for play in 1947 as a member owned club. The second nine was opened in 1952 and a new clubhouse followed.
Royal Oaks has always been known as a long, tough tree-lined golf course. It is a popular tournament site and has hosted many major Northwest tournaments, including the PNGA Amateur where Tiger Woods won in 1994 and Nick Flanagan in 2003. Royal Oaks has been consistently ranked in the top 5 golf courses in the state of Washington and has also been ranked in the top 100 nationally by Golf Digest Magazine.
