ASU’s Jino Sohn to defend title in 103rd annual Southwestern Amateur in Mid-June at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale

Arizona State University senior Jino Sohn will attempt to repeat his championship performance from last year in the 103rd Southwestern Amateur Golf Tournament beginning on Wednesday, June 13 and running through Saturday, June 16 at the Desert Mountain Club’s Cochise Course in northeast Scottsdale.

Sohn – who shot a 14-under-par 266 in last year’s event – heads a field of 90 of the country’s finest amateur players in one of the country’s longest-running men’s amateur tournaments, which is sponsored by the Southwestern Golf Association, a non-profit organization that promotes amateur golf throughout the region. He is the first Arizona State University Sun Devil player to win the prestigious championship since 1989 when Scott Frisch won his third consecutive (1987-89) Southwestern Amateur title.

The 72-hole tournament will begin each morning with tee times from 7:30-9:20 a.m. on the first and tenth holes.

Showcasing players from colleges, universities, community colleges and a limited number of high school players and top-flight mid-amateur contestants, the Southwestern Amateur is recognized throughout the country as one of the country’s leading amateur events. Early entrants for the 2018 tournament include players from 25 states and Puerto Rico, 11 countries, and 61 colleges and universities, two high schools and one community college.

Sohn will be joined in the tournament by four of his ASU teammates, and a host of players from all over the country. 

Past tournament winners include PGA stars Nick Watney, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin, Craig Stadler, Tom Pernice, Jr., Jay Haas, Ryan Palmer and Ted Purdy.  J. T. Poston, the 2013 champion, is one of the up-and-coming stars on the PGA Tour.

John Ranslem, executive director of the SWGA, said the tournament “has seen participation from some of the country’s finest young amateur players. We are extremely proud of the tournament’s history and our partnership with Desert Mountain in hosting one of the country’s finest amateur competitions.”

Over the years, the Southwestern Amateur has been played at a variety of sites throughout Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada and New Mexico on an annual basis with the exception of a three-year hiatus from 1943-45 because of World War II. On four occasions the event has been played in Mexico. 

Since its founding in 1915 as a regional match play invitational tournament for private golf course members to compete against the nation’s best amateur players, the Southwestern Amateur has developed a stellar reputation as a high-quality competition for the nation’s top players. The tournament was changed to a stroke play event in 1966 to meet the growing demands of the tournament and the increased popularity of the game created during the Palmer-Nicklaus era.

Now in its sixth year at the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, the Southwestern Amateur has been played on three of the six of the Jack Nicklaus-designed signature golf courses at the club over the past five years. 

Anyone interested in obtaining additional information on the tournament can go to www.swga.net.