Humphreys back in the swing at Oregon Amateur

Camas grad didn't advance, but fellow Papermaker Snoey through to quarterfinals

By Tim Martinez, Columbian Assistant Sports Editor

Published: June 25, 2020, 7:00pm

2 Photos

Boise State golfer Brian Humphreys, a Camas High School graduate, hits a shot at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland during play Thursday in the Oregon Amateur. Humphreys was eliminated from the tournament in the round of 32, losing on a 19th hole. (Oregon Golf Association photo) Photo Gallery

PORTLAND — Brian Humphreys was glad to be back playing competitive golf.

The Camas High grad just wishes he could have kept playing a little bit longer this week.

Humphreys, a Boise State golfer, had his run end Thursday at the Oregon Amateur golf tournament when he lost to Brandon Eyre of Salem, Ore., on the 19th hole in the round of 32 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Still, he was happy to be playing again.

“It was awesome,” he said. “There was a little bit of rust in the stroke-play round. I’m always a little nervous coming back into a tournament after I haven’t played in a while. But it was great to be out there again. I had close matches both days. It was just fun to come down the stretch and hit good shots. Unfortunately, I didn’t get it in the end, but it was still cool to be in that position again.”

Humphreys and Eyre were all square after 16 holes Thursday and remained that way after Eyre just missed a birdie putt on No. 17.

But on No. 18, it was Humphrey’s turn to miss, as his putt from just on the fringe of the green stopped at the lip of the hole.

“That was about as close as it gets without dropping,” Humphreys said. “You’re allowed to wait 10 seconds to see if the ball will drop in the hole. So I waited.”

The ball didn’t fall, and when Eyre converted his par putt, the pair went to an extra hole.

Humphrey’s drive on No. 1 went right into the trees, forcing him to hit a high approach shot, which bounced on the green and rolled off.

His chip-and-run left him with a long par put, which he missed. Eyre converted his par putt for the win.

The lone other local golfer still alive in the field, another Camas High grad Daniel Snoey, won his morning match, beating Riley Killip of Olympia 1-up.

In Snoey’s afternoon round-of-16 match Thursday, Snoey won 5 and 4 over Shawn Lu of Corvallis, Ore. He plays Bryce Wortman of Creswell, Ore., in the quarterfinals on Friday.

For Humphreys, this week’s event marked his first round of competitive golf since the NCAA canceled the golf season in March. His last tournament was the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Ore., on March 8-10.

“I was playing with one of my buddies, Bryce (Wortman) who plays for San Jose State,” Humphreys said. “On the second day of the tournament, he was talking about how they were potentially moving our conference championship out of Washington because of the outbreak. Then we got back to Boise two days later, and the whole season was shut down.”

After schooling went to remote learning, Humphreys remained in Boise, continuing to work on his golf game.

“The courses have been open in Idaho the whole time,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to get my swing in the right place, and try to get ready for next season.”

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Humphrey was originally planning to leave Boise State this spring with degrees in supply chain management and finance. When the NCAA granted athletes an additional year of eligibility, Humphreys decided to return to Boise State for another year and pursue an additional degree in business administration.

“Honestly, it really wasn’t much of a decision,” he said. “I love playing at Boise. I didn’t play as well as I wanted to my senior year, and I didn’t finish it. I view it as a chance to do it again. And we have a couple of good guys coming in, so it’s just an opportunity for our team to be really good.”

Humphreys plans to enter the Idaho State Amateur and the Washington State Amateur this summer as he prepares to return to play for Boise State.

He said he enjoyed returning home, where his family also hosted Wortman and Boise State teammate Joe Neuheisel, son of former University of Washington and UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel. Also, Humphrey’s girlfriend, Boise State women’s golfer Nicole Suppelsa, was his caddie this week.

“It’s been a little bit like a hotel this week at my parents’ house,” he said.