Hunter Sparks won The Railer, Kansas Stroke Play Championship and Rafael Becker placed second at The Rice Planters Amateur Tournament over the weekend and Becker prepares to join WSU teammates Elliot Soyez and Tyler Gann at the prestigious U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this week in Oregon. 

Live scoring for the tournament is available HERE. 

Sparks claimed his victory at The Inaugural Railer, Kansas Stroke Play Championship by besting future Oklahoma Sooner Michael Gellerman in a playoff at Sand Creek Station in Newton, Kan.  The WSU junior-to-be carded a 1-over 217 (73-69-75) before taking medalist honors on the second playoff hole. 

"I played really well the back nine after a rough start during the first round," Sparks said.  "That gave me a lot of confidence and I carried the momentum into the last two rounds.  It was a hard-fought tournament and I was glad to come out on top."

The Inaugural Railer, Kansas Stroke Play Championship

Becker fell a stoke short to Duke sophomore-to-be Austin Cody at the 2011 Rice Planters Amateur Tournament at Snee Family Farm in Mount Pleasant, S.C.  Becker finished at 17-under (68-67-70-66=271), tying with North Carolina's Ryan Heisey for second. 

"Overall, I played really well this week," Becker said.  "I made one mistake that resulted in a double-bogey during the second round but other than that I am really happy with how the tournament went."

The Rice Planters Amateur Tournament

Becker, Gann, and Soyez all won qualifying tournaments earlier this year to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.  Becker tees off at 3:40 p.m. CDT, Gann at 10:10 a.m. CDT, and Soyez at 2:50 p.m. CDT.  The tournament takes place at Brandon Dunes in Oregon and runs through July 2.