Anderson Putts Into Pacific Northwest Quarterfinals

There's a saying in golf that you drive for show and you putt for dough.

Pacific Palisades native Spencer Anderson put that theory to the test this week in the 110th Pacific Northwest Amateur, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to Joseph Harrison, 1-up, Friday at Tetherow Golf Club in Bend, Oregon. 

Sure, Anderson's drives were far enough and straight enough, but it was the flat stick that served him best all tournament. He carded an eagle and eight birdies in 36 holes over the first two days, then rolled in one clutch putt after another in the one-on-one phase of the event.

Anderson's quarterfinal match Friday against Harrison of Boulder City, Nevada, produced some of the best shot-making of the tournament.

A 5-10, 150-pound senior at Duke University, Anderson birdied the par 5 first hole, lost the second, eagled the par 5 third and added won the sixth, but the University of San Diego junior won the fifth and seventh to stay all square, then took the lead with a birdie at No. 9.

Anderson carded his second eagle at the 10th hole, a par 4, and after Harrison won the 12th, Anderson had back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14 to go 1-up. The players split 15 and 16 before Harrison closed with a birdie-birdie finish to win the match.

Anderson had posted rounds of 74-75 to finish tied for 23rd in stroke play and advance to match play, where he opened with a 6 and 4 win over Chris Tedesco of Gig Harbor, Washington. Then, he beat Nicholas Chianello of Oregon State 2 and 1 after trailing by three holes with six remaining.

In the round of 16, Anderson edged UC Berkeley's Jamie Core 1-up, taking a two-hole lead with five left and hanging on.

It was a promising result for Anderson, who missed a majority of the summer tournaments last year while recovering from a wrist injury.

Anderson was a four-year varsity letterman and two-time Olympic League Most Valuable Player at Brentwood School, leading the Eagles to the team title at the CIF South Coast Team Divisional as a junior and to a second-place finish as a sophomore. He shot a 72-70--142 to earn medalist honors at the Olympic League Finals his freshman year.

Not only is Anderson accustomed to scoring well on the golf course, but in the classroom as well. In 2007 he was named an HP Scholastic Junior All-American by the Junior Golf Association following an eighth-place finish at the ReBath Heather Farr Classic in Mesa, Arizona, and he scored 2240 out of 2400 on his SAT.

The photograph is courtesy of Duke University.