Cole Madey of West Linn, Ore., sank a short birdie putt on the final hole to win the 24th Sahalee Players Championship by one stroke over Nathan Barbieri of Australia at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.
Madey, a junior at UCLA, led much of the way and posted a score of 68-68-73-72—281, 7-under-par, while Barbieri finished at 70-70-70-72—282, and Joshua McCarthy of Danville and Pepperdine was third at 71-70-71-72—284.
“This is huge for me,” said Madey, the 2017 Pacific Coast Golf Association Player of the Year. “I’ve put so much work into my game, so many hours that people haven’t seen. To win this means so much to me. I’m going to cherish it forever, especially in the Pacific Northwest.”
Barbieri, playing in the final group with Madey, pulled even with a downhill 22-foot birdie on the 17th hole, but the Aussie’s approach shot on the 535-yard closing hole hit a tree and missed the green.
Madey, the 2017 Oregon Amateur champion, hit a brilliant 245-yard approach with a 4-iron and then tapped in for a closing birdie after barely missing a 12-foot eagle putt. When Barbieri missed a 15-foot birdie putt, it was over.
Earlier, Barbieri got back into the chase with a 45-foot eagle putt on the 11th hole.
Cole Hammer of Houston shot 70-70-74-72—286 and tied for fourth with Peter Kuest of Fresno, who finished at 69-71-76-70—286, while James Song of Rancho Santa Fe was sixth at 68-73-71-75—287, followed by Min Woo Lee of Australia at 70-72-72-74—288.
Alex Lee of Sacramento totaled 75-67-74-73—289 to tie for eighth with Hide Yoshihara of Irvine and UCLA, who wound up at 74-76-69-70—289, and Lauren Rowe of Canada, who came in at 68-75-76-70—289.
Former Sahalee Players champions include Ryan Moore, Casey Martin, Jason Gore, Arron Oberholser, Kyle Stanley, Daniel Summerhays, Nick Taylor, Peter Uihlein, Corey Pereira and Andrew Yun.
For complete results, visit https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3945787620751077055.
