Tacoma Firs' Craig Larson Captures 47th Puget Sound Amateur

(Editor's note: This comes from Pierce County)

Craig Larson from Tacoma Firs Golf Center came from one shot back to capture the by four shots over first-round leaders Alex Williams of West Seattle and Bryan Jan of Chambers Bay.

Larson's two-day total of 141 was the only score under par. He beat a field of 85 players who, for the first time, battled two Pierce County-owned tournament courses over the weekend.

Lake Spanaway hosted day one and proved to be a worthy tournament test with tight-tree lined fairways and firm greens approaching 13 on the Stimpmeter. Williams and Jan shared 1-over par 73s. Blue skies and warm temperatures welcomed the field Saturday on a perfect day for scoring. After the first round, 17 players were within 5 shots of the lead going into the final day.

the site of the 2015 U.S. Open, welcomed the players for the final round in what proved to be a battle of the elements as well as the course. Rain fell most of Sunday as the players negotiated their way around the links-style layout design by renowned course designer Robert Trent Jones II. Williams was solid on the second day but could not get enough birdies to fall and finished with an even par 72. After opening with two bogies, Larson made birdies on holes three, seven and eight to make the turn at 1-under for the day and 1-over for the tournament. James Fuetz of Tacoma Country & Golf shot a final round 69 to make things interesting, but Larson brought home the victory with a four-birdie, no-bogey 32 on the back nine for a final round 67.

"I congratulate the players and offer special thanks to Premier Golf and KemperSports, the companies that manage operations at Lake Spanaway and Chambers Bay, for providing championship course conditions," said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy. "I'm sure many of these players will spend the summer honing their skills at our golf courses so they can compete in next year's Puget Sound Amateur."