CHEHALIS — Centralia High School alum Von Wasson, home for the summer after his sophomore season playing golf for Fresno State University, held off a handful of past champions to win his first Lewis County Amateur Sunday at Riverside Golf Club.
Wasson finished the two-day tournament with a 6-under par 136. Past champions — Jon McCaslin (139), Patrick Nugent (141), and Warren Ayers (142) — rounded out the top four finishers.
The overall Net Champion (score including handicap) was James King, who shot 81-81 for a net 68-68 total of 6-under par for the two days. Casey Winters and Andy Erb were both 4-under par net for the two days.
“We’re very proud of Von,” said Riverside owner Sonja Sorenson. “He’s been playing here for a long time and worked very hard. It’s great to see another local win this event.”
Wasson shot a 6-under par 65 on Saturday for a one-shot lead over Nugent after the first day and led McCaslin and Anthony Heintzman by three shots. Last year’s champion, Ayers, shot a one-under 70 on Saturday. Cole Wasson was the only other player to shoot even par or better on Saturday, firing an even-par 71.
Von Wasson birdied the first two holes of the final day and shot a 3-under par 33 on the front nine to take a commanding lead with just nine holes to play. He overcame bogeys on holes 14, 15 and 16 to par the final two holes for the three-shot victory.
“I knew I had a solid lead going into the final nine holes,” said the winner. “It was a weird shot that led to the bogey on 14, and then I just hit a bad drive on 15 that led to another bogey. 16 is a tough driving hole for me. My caddy (friend Cohen Ballard) really helped settle me down and then I made a couple solid pars to finish. I’m proud of the way I ended up.”
Wasson is headed to Fresno in two weeks to prepare for his junior year.
“Von’s a great player and this is something I know he’s wanted for a while,” said Riverside Head Professional Austin Abbott. “He put on an absolute clinic with his driver on Sunday. It’s been fun working with him the past several years and it’s great to be able to get his name on this trophy.”
The Riverside Golf Club Lewis County Amateur takes place the first weekend in August each year.
