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Reactions to Finn Koelle's hole in one on last hole
Washington's Finn Koelle makes a hole-in-one on the 9th hole at Sahalee Country Club in the 2026 Sahalee Players Championship, clinching a two-shot victory over Oklahoma State's Eric Lee. (Video by Nicole Sasu-Twum / University of Washington)
A walk-off hole-in-one on the par-3 9th hole helped Washington's Finn Koelle take home the individual crown at the Sahalee Players Championship on Sunday.
The eagle at the 214-yard par-3 9th carried Koelle to a two-shot margin of victory over Oklahoma State's Eric Lee. The ninth hole was Koelle's last in the 54-hole championship. Koelle hit a 5-iron that landed on the green and tracked perfectly into the hole to cap a 6-under 66. He played his final eight holes in 5-under par to claim the title.
Washington finished third in the team completion at 26-over behind runaway championship champion Oklahoma State (4-under) and runner-up Florida (24-over).
Dig deeper:
Koelle was tied for 20th after an opening round 2-over 74 on Friday had him eight shots back of Bishop Blanchet alum and University of Illinois' Max Herendeen. A 3-under 69 helped Koelle vault back into contention on Saturday, but he still trailed Herendeen by eight, and Lee by three heading into the final round.
A 6-over back nine from Herendeen that saw double bogeys on 15 and 17 dropped him down to third overall as Koelle surged on the front nine. Koelle made birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 6 before a lone front nine bogey on the par-4 8th brought him to his final hole at 5-under par for the tournament. The ace at the ninth pushed him two shots clear of Lee to claim the trophy.
Koelle made it to match play of the U.S. Amateur this summer at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. Koelle earned a 1-up victory over Kihei Akina to advance to the Round of 32 before falling to Morocco's Adam Bresnu, 3-and-2.
The backstory:
The Sahalee Players Championship has served both as an independently run amateur championship and a top level college championship since it was launched in 1992. It became a fully collegiate event starting in 2023. The field for this year's event included Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Duke, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, UCLA and Washington.
Sahith Theegala, Peter Uihlein, Nick Taylor, Daniel Summerhays, Kyle Stanley, Ryan Moore, Aaron Oberholser and Jason Gore are among the PGA Tour names that have won the championship. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Kurt Kitayama, Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee are among the PGA Tour stars that have also played in the event through the years.
Finn Koelle of the University of Washington poses with the trophy after winning the individual title at the 2026 Sahalee Players Championship. (Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures)
The Source: Information in this story came from The University of Washington and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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