At least six golfers who have passed through Gold Mountain on their way to successful PGA careers were playing in the Masters the past two days.
You probably have heard of some of them.
Justin Spieth is having a historic tournament, setting a record for the lowest score through 36 holes (64-66—130). Spieth’s connection to Gold Mountain? The lad from Texas won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2011.
Dustin Johnson set a Masters record with three eagles on Friday enroute to shooting a 67. He’s tied for third at 137, a really good score, but seven back of the Spiethmaster. Johnson was at Gold Mountain in 2004 when he tied for seventh in the Husky Invitational while playing for Coastal Carolina.
Jonas Blixt is tied for 19th after rounds of 72-70. Blixt was a senior at Florida State when he passed through Gold Mountain for the NCAA regionals in 2008. Blixt tied for second with Spieth at the 2014 Masters, which was won by Bubba Watson, and was fourth at the 2013 PGA Championship.
Keegan Bradley won a PGA Championship in 2011, the same year Spieth was running the table at the Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain. Bradley played his college golf for St. John’s and he found his way to Bremerton for the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links. He lost in the second round of match play. Bradley is tied for 27th at Augusta after rounds of 71-72.
Florida’s Billy Horschel also lost in the first round at the 2006 APL. He missed the cut at the Masters, as did Luke Donald, a native of England who was playing for Northwestern when he finished in a four-way tied for second at the 1998 Husky Invitational. Donald was the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in 2011, when he won four events and wound up as the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Horschel tied for fourth at the 2013 U.S. Open and made 23 straight cuts at one point during that season.
Did you know? The University of Washington will host the NCAA West Regionals on May 14-16 at Gold Mountain.
