EVERETT — Jacob Rohde is attempting to join some select company.
The 92nd annual Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament commences this weekend, and two-time defending champion Rohde can etch his name into the record books with another victory.
Only twice before has a player won three straight County Ams, those being Bob Burton in 1973-75 and Kevin Beavers in 2015-17. Rohde, an Everett resident who plays out of Legion Memorial Golf Course, can join those two with another victory this weekend.
“It’s an elite group, it would be a very rare feat,” tournament director Jason Himple said. “It’s something Jacob is going after this year.”
In addition, Rohde has a chance to win his fourth County Am, which would make him just the fifth player to become a four-time champion — Bob Whisman won five, while Jeff Knudson, Todd Tibke and Alex Stamey have each won four.
The tournament takes place Saturday through Monday at courses throughout Everett, with the first round at Legion Memorial on Saturday, the second round at Walter Hall Golf Course on Sunday and the final round at Everett Golf & Country Club on Monday.
A total of 108 players are set to take part this year, with 66 in Flight 1, and almost the entire leaderboard from the last two editions of the tournament are registered. Therefore Rohde, who won by a single stroke the previous two years, will have plenty of competition.
“It’s a strong field, like normal,” Himple said. “There are about two-dozen players with plus handicaps or better. It’s a strong field and a young field, I like seeing these young players coming out and competing.”
Rohde (plus-3.5) is one of four players with handicaps of plus 3.0 or better who will be among the favorites. The others include Harbour Pointe Golf Club’s Daniel Kim (plus-3.5), who’s coming off his freshman season at Washington State University; Mill Creek Country Club’s Jordan Brajcich (plus-3.4), who’s coming off a victory at the Washington Champions of Champions tournament last month; and Mill Creek’s Johnny Carey (plus-3.2), who finished tied for third at last year’s County Am.
Also expected to be in the mix is Everett Golf & Country Club’s Alvin Kwak. The Columbia University player won the 2019 championship and finished as runner-up each of the past two tournaments. In addition, former PGA Tour player Greg Whisman, who tied with Kwak for second in 2021 and represents SuperRange, is back in the field. Whisman, who was forced to withdraw last year, is hoping to become a father-son champion duo with his father Bob.
Two other past champions are in the field in Snohomish Golf Course’s Tibke and Walter Hall’s Stephen Lee.
And for the first time in tournament history there are multiple female entrants. Everett Golf & Country Club’s Michelle Duan, who became the first female competitor in tournament history in 2021, is joined in this year’s field by Everett Golf & Country Club’s Heaven Kim and Harbour Pointe’s Annie Jung, both of whom play for Kamiak High School’s girls team.
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