PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend’s Gabe Tonan beat out 30 other golfers from Oregon and Washington to win the Gearhart Hickory Classic on July 10-11 in Gearhart, Ore.
Hickory golf uses old fashioned hickory shaft clubs. There are no irons.
Tonan shot a 74 on July 10 and an 81 on July 11 for a 155, beating second-place golfer Jeff Olsen of Shoreline, who shot a 158 (78/80).
The Society of Hickory Golfers reported that normally more than 45 golfers compete, but numbers were down a little this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The society reported that many players were challenged by the speed of the greens both in putting and making approach shots to the slick surfaces at Gearhart (near Seaside, Ore.), as well as the tall fescue in the rough.
“These challenges caused some elevation in the scoring, but the competition remained keen,” the society wrote.
This was the eighth annual Gearhart Hickory Classic, which will host the 2021 U.S. Hickory Open in September 2021.
The Gearhart Hickory Classic will take a hiatus next year as the course is hosting this national event.
