Local junior golfer Joe Anderson, who will be starting the 8th grade this fall at the Orcas Island Middle School, traveled to Moses Lake, Washington to compete in the Washington Junior Golf Association’s 47th State Championship.

The tournament is a 3-day event, where the best junior golfers in the state compete. In the 12-13 division, 30 golfers qualified for the state championship, but only the top 9 golfers after 2 days would play on day 3 for the championship.

Joe came out firing on day 1 with 5 birdies and the low round of the day, a -2 par score of 70. On day 2, Joe felt the pressure of leading the state championship and limped in with a score of 79. After day 2, Joe was tied for 4th place and was poised to scratch his way back into contention only trailing the leader by 3 strokes. On day 3, Joe made a 12-foot slider for a birdie on the first hole to narrow the gap to 2 strokes.

Joe caught fire on the back 9, making birdie on 3 consecutive holes. On hole #12, Joe missed the green short, but chipped in for a birdie from about 35 yards. On hole 13, he made a 30-foot bomb for birdie and on hole 14, he stuffed his approach shot to 4 feet and made the birdie putt. When the dust settled after 14 holes, Joe was only down 1 stroke for the WJGA State Championship! He finished the tourney with another low round of the day, shooting another -2 par 70.

Unfortunately, Joe dug himself too large of a hole after day 2, but he finished strong, placing second in the Championship. Joe finished off his summer golf season in style and is poised to compete for the Orcas Island Vikings high school team as an 8th grader this next spring.