EVANSTON — Evanston and the Purple Sage Championship Golf Course will again play host to the Wyoming Golf Association State Amateur Tournament, June 29-July 1. The Purple Sage last hosted the “State-Am” five or six years ago and has also welcomed the Wyoming Mid-Amateur Championships and the Junior Amateur tourneys.

As of press time, 110 golfers were scheduled to take part in the tournament, split into flights, based on handicap. Eight to ten flights, from championship flight to first flight and on down, will separate the field and individual flight champions will be crowned. The competition will take place in the morning hours with the course opening for public play in the afternoon hours.

Purple Sage PGA professional Scott Ehlers speculated approximately 70-75 percent of the competitors will hail from outside of the Evanston area. The event provides a nice economic boon for the Evanston area, as Ehlers pointed out, “Most of the golfers will play a practice round on Thursday, so we’ll have them in town on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

Clubs and courses inform the Wyoming Golf Association of their interest in hosting an associated event and the courses are then evaluated in the selection process. The Wyoming Golf Association board of directors and its executive director, Dave Snyder, apparently view Evanston and the Purple Sage favorably. According to Ehlers, 

“Dave likes Evanston and views our course as challenging and worthy of hosting state events.”

Ehlers went on to credit Purple Sage Golf Course superintendent Jeff Murdock and his staff, along with the weather, for preparing the par 72 and 6,138-yard course to be in ready condition for the Wyoming State-Am.

“Jeff has the course playing as tough as it’s been in years and with the rain we’ve received, the roughs can be quite severe,” Ehlers said.

“It will push the golfers,” he added. “They will definitely have to bring their game.”

Ehlers also believes the opportunity to host the tournament pays additional dividends for the course and the community. 

“It’s a great event for southwest Wyoming and the ETown. It’s a wonderful marketing tool as it exposes our golf course and community to a lot of people,” Ehlers added.

“Our hotels and businesses should benefit and I consider it a win-win all the way around for everybody.”
   For more details on the Purple Sage Golf Course, visit
PurpleSageGolf.com online.