Cole Rueck takes a swing on the 18th hole of the Oregon Open Invitational in July 2023 at the Ridge Golf Course at Eagle Crest Resort. 

The top of the leaderboard was loaded with amateur golfers, but at 54 rounds of golf, it was PGA professional Shane Prante who finished above the rest of the field.

Prante of The Home Course in DuPont, Washington, fended off a handful of amateur golfers to claim the Oregon Open Invitational title by two strokes.

Prante finished 14 under par despite, admittedly, not having his best round on the final day. He shot 67 on the first day, 65 on the second and 70 on the final day to win the Oregon Open with 202 total strokes at the Ridge Golf Course at Eagle Crest Resort .

His prize for coming out on top: $10,000.

“I hadn’t been playing well coming into this tournament,” Prante said. “I had been too aggressive off the tee, not trusting my reads. I played really well the first two days, today was a little more of a grind. You are always going to have one day where it is a grind. I put myself in position to still come away with it.”

Four of the top five finishers were amateurs. Tied for the amateur title were Isaac Buerger (of Eagle Crest Resort) and Cole Rueck (of Corvallis Country Club), who finished tied for second overall.

Buerger, who won the Class 5A individual state titles in 2017 and 2019 while at Ridgeview, saved his best round for last. After shooting 69 in rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, he improved by three strokes on the final round to finish 12 under par (69-69-66-204).

“It was a slow start to the week. I didn’t really play well on Tuesday, but I just battled,” said Buerger who now golfs for Weber State in Utah. “But I knew there were a ton of birdy chances; I just stayed patient to get myself back into it. Coming into today I thought I’d have a good chance if I shot 65.”

Rueck, who golfs at Boise State, did not expect to find himself in the top group of three golfers on the final day, finished with an identical score to Buerger finishing 12 under par (64-69-71-204)

“I didn’t have these high expectations,” Rueck said. “I’m really happy with how I played, this is by far the most under par I have been in a tournament and first time shooting in the 60s in back to back rounds in a tournament. It was a good week all around. I’m proud of how I stayed aggressive and didn’t play defensive.”