Not just any golf course gets to host an Oregon Amateur Championship. Black Butte Ranch is proud that is among the chosen few as it gets set to host the 107th Oregon Amateur next week, and Glaze Meadow ready to challenge the very best men and women players in Oregon.
This marks just the third time the state’s oldest and most prestigious championship will be played in Central Oregon, and the first time it has ever been played at a Central Oregon course not named Bend Golf and Country Club. The tournament tees off Monday with the first of two rounds of stroke-play qualifying. Single-elimination match play begins on Wednesday, ending with 36-hole championships men’s and women’s championship matches on Saturday.
For Black Butte Ranch’s golfers this means that tee times at Glaze Meadow will be limited during the tournament, though increasingly available as the field is whittled down. (Anyone who does play Glaze Meadow will be treated to tournament conditions.)
Thankfully, Black Butte Ranch has enjoyed the support of its homeowners, allowing the Ranch to host a tournament of this stature. And golfers can still enjoy without limitation Big Meadow, one of the top-rated golf courses in Oregon.
Black Butte Ranch wanted to host the Oregon Amateur for so many reasons. The prestige that goes with hosting a championship that has been played at the most legendary golf courses in the state and won by some of the biggest names in Oregon golf is always appealing.
“This is history,” said Jeff Fought, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf. “There are only so many tournaments of this caliber here in Oregon. First we hosted the state’s open championship in 2014, and now we are hosting the state amateur championship. It is great that Black Butte Ranch is able to be a part of the state’s golf history.”
But there is so much more to hosting the Oregon Amateur than just the prestige of hosting. Holding a tournament of this stature is one way to give back to the game. And for many on Black Butte Ranch’s staff, the Oregon Amateur is particularly special.
Fought, an Oregon native, nearly won the 1980 Oregon Amateur Championship, falling in the championship match to Gay Davis. George Mack Jr., Black Butte Ranch’s longtime director of instruction, won the 1990 Oregon Amateur.
That propelled Mack to a professional career that included exempt status on the 1993 Nike Tour (now known as the Web.com Tour).
“Growing up in Oregon, there was nothing more important than the Oregon Amateur,” Mack said. “For an Oregon golfer, being called ‘Oregon Amateur champion’ is the highest honor you could earn.”
This should be an awfully fun week at Black Butte Ranch.
For those who want to watch the action in person, spectators are welcome and admission is free. Others can follow the action at https://oga.org/107th-oregon-amateur-championship.
For the inspired golfer, Book a tee time online, call 855-210-5305, or the Golf Shop at 541-595-1545.