The Alaska State Championships at Birch Ridge

Yes, this gets asked every year. While we do see the merit behind it, we prefer the final 9 for a fe ... show more ›

Yes, this gets asked every year. While we do see the merit behind it, we prefer the final 9 for a few reasons. One, it allows for the players who make that final cut to play only focused on their position and not on their rating, which lends itself to better play. As well, we don’t think it’s fair to offer a rated round to only a certain portion of the field. It also somewhat a keeps the Hilltop Final 9 tradition alive which a lot of people are fond of. Due to time and course restraints we can’t field everyone for that final round or I would be keen on doing a bigger layout, everyone plays 13 holes round like Edan does with pinks in Homer. Hopefully this provides some insight into the decision.