PNW Assistant Championship/2024

By Cameron Altmayer, PNW PGA Tournament Intern

On August 5, 2024, Assistant Professionals from across the Pacific Northwest Section gathered at Rainier Golf and Country Club in Seattle, Washington, to compete in the National Car Rental PNW PGA Professional Assistant Championship. A total of 40 assistants and associates played 36 holes in one day to determine the three qualifiers and three alternates for the 47th PGA Assistant Championship, supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, and Asics, which will be held from November 14-17, 2024, at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL.

PGA Professional Mason Koch from Tacoma Country and Golf Club emerged victorious with a score of 141, 3-under for the tournament. Joining him in qualifying for the national event were PGA Professionals Shane Prante of The Home Course, who finished with a total of 142, and James Hall of PNW Golf Academy, along with Cole Lorenz of CDA National Reserve, both scoring 143.

When asked about his mindset going into the second round, Mason said, "Teeing off for the second round, I focused on maintaining my routines and trying to ‘reset’ the tournament in my mind completely, playing the second round with a clean slate as if I didn’t have the 4-shot lead. I regularly do this type of reset during a round by playing six 3-hole loops, restarting back at even par every fourth hole. This helps me avoid being controlled by my current score."

Regarding the significance of this win, he responded, "This win is absolutely big for me; however, I’m hoping it’s just the beginning. I’ve had several close calls at section majors in the past few years but couldn’t quite close them out down the stretch. Now that I have one under my belt, I will have more confidence going forward."

On how it feels to know he will be representing the section at the national event, he said, "Representing the section at nationals is very exciting for me, and I’m hopeful to represent the PNW Section well. It will be a fun week in Florida with Shane and Cole, and hopefully, my dad will be caddying for me again. It’s very cool to already feel the support of my peers as I prepare for the national event."

The PNW PGA Section would like to thank host PGA Head Professional Brandon Mohl and all his staff and grounds crew for preparing Rainier G&CC in championship condition. We would also like to express our appreciation to our sponsor National Car Rental, as well as to Srixon, Cleveland Golf, Asics, and the PGA Tour for their support.

Final results: https://2024secassistant.golfgenius.com