Beavers hopes for repeat run to Snohomish County Amateur title

A lot of golfers spend a lot of years trying to win one Snohomish County Amateur golf championship.

Kevin Beavers of Seattle pulled it off in his very first try.

That alone was enough to make last year’s victory special for Beavers, a Boeing engineer who is also the assistant boys golf coach at Mukilteo’s Kamiak High School. Beavers, now 32, pulled ahead in the second round of the 54-hole County Am a year ago and breezed to a six-stroke victory.

But as Beavers pointed out this week, winning any tournament anywhere and anytime is special, and he would dearly love a repeat title at this year’s 86th annual County Am, which begins Saturday and continues to Monday.

“I actually had a pretty decent summer (of golf last year) with the confidence that winning that tournament brought me,” he said. “So I don’t care how big or how small a tournament is, if you pull out a victory you’re ecstatic.”

Beavers was a relative unknown in last year’s field, given that he was making his County Am debut. But as the defending champ and a logical favorite this year, he is sure to have everyone’s attention.

That said, will the 2016 tournament feel different based on what he did in 2015?

“That’s a good question,” said Beavers, who boasts a nifty +1.6 handicap. “I don’t entirely know yet. I think I’ll know more when I get to the tournament (on Saturday). … But anytime you’re defending a title, it’s a nice feeling. You know you can do it and now you want to try to do it again.

“I’m sure there’ll be a little more expectation to try to do it again,” he added. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s something I’m definitely going to try to do.”

Beavers will be in a field of 101 for Saturday’s opening round. The tournament is divided into three divisions based on handicaps, with the first division for handicaps of +2.8-5.0, the second division for handicaps of 5.1-10.1, and the third division for handicaps of 10.2-20.8.

All three divisions play at Everett’s Legion Memorial Golf Course on Saturday, move to Mukilteo’s Harbour Pointe Golf Club on Sunday, and close at Snohomish Golf Course on Monday.

As usual, the County Am is loaded with elite golfers. Twenty-seven members of the field have handicaps of 2.0 or better, and 12 have plus handicaps.

Chris Hatch of Harbour Pointe is the low handicapper at +2.8, followed by Rudy Caparas of Jorgensen Golf at +2.2. Other plus handicappers include Brandon Agnew of Everett Golf &Country Club (+1.7), Patrick Boag of Everett G&CC (+1.6), Jacob Rohde of Legion Memorial (+1.3), Mark Strickland of Harbour Pointe (+1.2), Robert Harrison Jr. of Jorgensen Golf (+1.2), Rowan Foxley of Everett G&CC (+1.0), Quinton Borseth of Everett G&CC (+0.6), Brian Barhanovich of Everett G&CC (+0.5) and Trevor Frisby of Everett G&CC (+0.3).

Given all the good players in the field this year, “I think it’s anybody’s tournament,” said tourney director Jason Himple, an assistant pro at Everett G&CC. “I just don’t think there’s a favorite.”

One difference this year will be the site of Monday’s final round. Though Snohomish has been an occasional County Am venue over the years, it has not hosted the final round in recent memory, and perhaps ever.

“With Snohomish being one of the longest courses in the county … it’s going to make for an interesting final round,” Himple said. “And it’s going to be fun.”

One player in this year’s field trying to make history is Alex Stamey of Everett G&CC (0.7 handicap), who won the County Am in 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2013. He is tied with the late Bob Whisman for the most tournament victories, and one more would give Stamey the top spot all to himself.

“It’s something I’m obviously gunning for,” the 52-year-old Stamey said. “To grab the overall title would be special, no doubt about it. The question is, can I?” he added with a laugh.

Last year Stamey played in the County Am only one month after elbow surgery and he finished fourth, eight shots behind Beavers.

“Obviously I’m much more confident than last year (because of the surgery),” Stamey said. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball well again, so I’m definitely excited to give it a try. Who knows, maybe I can find some of the old magic.”

In addition to Beavers and Stamey, other past champions in this year’s field include 1999 winner Jeff Strickland of Everett G&CC (1.1 handicap), and Todd Tibke of Snohomish (0.7), who had victories in 1987, 1988, 1999 and 2001. With a win this year, Tibke would move into a tie with Stamey and Whisman.

Snohomish County Amateur Tee Times

First- and second-round tee times for the 86th annual Snohomish County Amateur Golf Tournament. The first round is Saturday at Legion Memorial Golf Course in Everett, the second round is Sunday at Harbour Pointe Golf Course, and the final round is Monday at Snohomish Golf Course. Tee times for the final round will be determined after the completion of the second round.

FIRST DIVISION

(+2.3– 5.0 handicaps)

8:04 a.m., 7:03 a.m.—Adam Brisben (Glen); John Burke (WH)

8:12 a.m., 9:27 a.m.—Jacob Rohde (LM); Daniel Lesnett (MC); Michael Burlison (Sno)

8:20 a.m., 9:18 a.m.—Rowan Foxley (EGCC); Michael Ostergaard (LM); Thomas Choe (HP)

8:28 a.m., 9:09 a.m.—Brandon Agnew (EGCC); Ed Lee (HP); Chris Bae (LM)

8:36 a.m., 9:00 a.m.—Rudy Caparas (Jor); Jeff Strickland (EGCC); Andrew Martin (LM)

8:44 a.m., 8:51 a.m.—Chris Hatch (HP); Alex Stamey (EGCC); Alvin Kwak (HP)

8:52 a.m., 8:42 a.m.—Kevin Beavers (HP); John Riley (Sno); Duane Diede (EGCC)

9:00 a.m., 8:33 a.m.—Patrick Boag (EGCC); Chris Scott (Jor); Michael Martinez (HP)

9:08 a.m., 8:24 a.m.—Mark Strickland (HP); Mick Stocker (EGCC); Mark Johnson (Jor)

9:16 a.m., 8:15 a.m.—Robert Harrison Jr. (Jor); Parker Berry (EGCC); Martin Seguin (WH)

9:24 a.m., 8:06 a.m.—Quinton Borseth (EGCC); Jeff Jordal (HP); Bill Steward (EGCC)

9:32 a.m., 7:57 a.m.—Brian Barhanovich (EGCC); Dereck Boll (LM); Dominic VanDaveer (Sno)

9:40 a.m., 7:48 a.m.—Trevor Frisby (EGCC); Devin Kim (HP); Ace Younggren (EF)

9:48 a.m., 7:39 a.m.—Tucker Keyes (Jor); Jerry Slind (Sno); Steve Laue (Lynn)

9:56 a.m., 7:30 a.m.—Kris Jackson (EF); Tyler Stocker (EGCC); Josef Koznek (LM)

10:04 a.m., 7:21 a.m.—Jason Calamaro (LM); Alex Toth (HP); Damon Parot (Ken)

10:12 a.m., 7:12 a.m.—Todd Tibke (Sno); J.D. McDonald (Jor); Andrew Austin (MC)

SECOND DIVISION

(5.1– 9.6 handicaps)

10:28 a.m., 10:48 a.m.—Jay Young (LM); Brian Wimer (KP); Peter Kasselman (LM)

10:36 a.m., 10:39 a.m.—Steven Howell (Sno); Mason Harvey (EGCC); Tanner Parot (Ken)

10:44 a.m., 10:30 a.m.—Brett Engstrom (WH); Ryan Kerr (HP); Austin Duffy (LM)

10:52 a.m., 10:21 a.m.—Stan Strickland (Sno); Eric Haechrel (Sno); Daniel Kim (HP)

11:00 a.m., 10:12 a.m.—Andrew Kephart (WH); Doug Barlow (EF); Daren Darden (WH)

11:08 a.m., 10:03 a.m.—Dan Frost (Jor); Nick Newman (WH); Hyung Mark Park (MC)

11:16 a.m., 9:54 a.m.—David Hood (SR); Alex Pynsky (WH); Jerry Browning (LM)

11:24 a.m., 9:45 a.m.—Jerry Rizzuto (WH); Jeff Olsen (LM); Will Robbins (WH)

11:32 a.m., 9:36 a.m.—Chris Davis (SR); Ajinder Handa (HP); Ben Headland (LM)

THIRD DIVISION

(9.7-20.8 handicaps)

7:00 a.m., noon—Kevin Spalti (WH); Christian Kim (EGCC); Bob Wallin (BC)

7:08 a.m., 11:51 a.m.—Brendan Doheny (WH); Nick Dammann (Sno); Kalvin Holler (BC)

7:16 a.m., 11:42 a.m.—Van Luu (LM); Rick Lamoureux (Sno); Ian Johnson (WH)

7:24 a.m., 11:33 a.m.—Darrell Stubblefield (Sno); Glenn Niemela (LM); Raj Naicker (HP)

7:32 a.m., 11:24 a.m.—Silas Puetz (HP); Michael Kim (HP); Richard Thamsen (WH)

7:40 a.m., 11:15 a.m.—Charles Solarek (WH); Jerry Wabey (HP); Byron Krogstadt (WH)

7:48 a.m., 11:06 a.m.—Matthew Harper (PGD); Mark Kaczorowski (Ken); James Goldade (HP)

7:56 a.m., 10:57 a.m.—Randall Parot (Ken); Dick Ludwig (LM); Tom Douglas (EGCC)

Key: BC—Battle Creek; EF—Echo Falls; EGCC—Everett G&CC; Glen—Gleneagle; HP—Harbour Pointe; Jor—Jorgensen; KP— Kayak Point; Ken—Kenwanda; LM—Legion Memorial; Lynn—Lynnwood; MC—Mill Creek CC; PGD—Pro Golf Discount (Lynnwod); Sno—Snohomish; SR—SuperRange; WH—Walter Hall