DREWITT WINS TITLE AT 109TH PNGA MEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Victoria, British Columbia (Saturday, July 17, 2010) – Brett Drewitt of Invernell, Australia wins the 109th PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship held at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C. Drewitt defeated Cory Renfrew of Victoria, B.C. in the 36-hole final match 4 and 3. Maybe Drewitt’s most impressive stat all week was that in all six of his matches, he never trailed an opponent once.

In the morning 18-holes, Drewitt, the nineteen year-old #15 seed who recently was offered an opportunity to play at Texas Tech University, made six straight pars to gain an early 1-up lead through 6 holes. He broke the match wide-open with a birdie on the 7th, a par on the 8th, and back-to-back birdies on the 9th and 10th to go 5-up through 10 holes. Renfrew would buckle down and make a solid par to win one back on the tough par 3 #11, then birdied the 12th and 13th to get the match back to 2-up in favor of Drewitt. The morning 18-holes would end with Drewitt making par on the 18th for a 3-up lead heading into the break.

The two would trade pars on the first three holes in the afternoon before Drewitt gained another hole on the par-3, 4th to increase his lead to 4-up. Renfrew would charge back with a concession victory on the 6th and a birdie 3 on 8th to get the match back to 2-up in Drewitt’s favor heading into the final 9-holes of the match. Renfrew made a miraculous save on the 10th to halve the hole but dropped to 4-down after Drewitt sank a birdie putt on the long par 3, 11th and made a winning par on the 12th. Renfrew’s determination kept him in the match after a gutsy par on the 13th won the hole keeping him within striking distance. Drewitt, however, was too much to handle down the stretch as the Aussie closed out the match with steady pars on the 14th and 15th never giving Renfrew an opportunity.

Drewitt, an accomplished player in the Australian junior circuit, will add this prestigious PNGA Men’s Amateur victory to an already flourishing break-through year in amateur golf. Drewitt’s first major amateur victory came in May at the Queensland Amateur Championship. Last week Drewitt competed at the Sahalee Players Championship which is the first leg of the Western Swing and will look to continue his winning ways later this month at the Pacific Coast Amateur at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

This is the eighth time Royal Colwood GC has hosted this prestigious regional championship; the first was in 1922 and the most recent was in 1988. The course was granted the Royal Title from King George V in 1931.

The rich history of the PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship has included past champions, Bill Sander, Tiger Woods, Jeff Quinney, and Nick Flanagan, all of whom went on to win a U.S. Amateur title in the same summer. After winning the 1994 PNGA Men’s Amateur title Woods said, “The PNGA Men’s Amateur will always be very special to me since it’s my first men’s amateur victory.” 

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