Enumclaw native Tyler Salsbury, preparing for his sophomore year at the University of Washington, posted a sterling 5-under 139 to win the 48th Annual Puget Sound Amateur by two shots over David Talcott, whose final round 69 wasn’t enough to catch the front-runner.
Ninety-nine players battled Pierce County’s two championship courses over two days, May 18-19.
Lake Spanaway Golf Course hosted day one under cloudy, drizzling skies and proved a worthy adversary with only three players in the field under par. Lake Spanaway’s tree-lined fairways and traditional Northwest greens were no match for Salsbury as he toured the golf course in 68 strokes to hold the first-day lead by two over Thomas Jun. Heavy afternoon showers made scoring difficult and all players were looking for a drier day at Chambers Bay.
Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 United States Open, welcomed the players for the final round under dry and warm conditions. Scoring proved difficult as the links-style layout designed by Robert Trent Jones II lived up to its championship reputation. The undulating greens made every putt a challenge and although Talcott made a run with a final round 69, Salsbury finished with a 1-under par 71 for the victory.