Wobbrock family caps off dream weekend at The Oregon Coast Invitational

Published 4:54 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Oregon Coast Invitational was held at the Astoria Golf and Country Club, winding up on Saturday. The event began in 1910 and is the second oldest golf tournament in Oregon. It has been held at the Astoria club since 1951 and attracts competitive golfers, who affectionately call it “The Coast.”

Caelen Wobbrock has dreamed of playing in the OCI since his childhood. After watching other members of his family participate in the coastal tournament, he finally had his chance on Saturday.

He turned 18 a week before the 2025 tournament so Wobbrock was allowed to play in the men’s bracket. He entered the week with one goal in mind.

“My goal was just to get to Saturday,” Wobbrock said.

Not only did Wobbrock get to Saturday, but he made history later on that afternoon.

Facing off against fellow Astoria Country Club member Richard Moore in the Grand Champs Championship flight, Wobbrock put on a show. Wobbrock hit towering long drives straight down the fairway, hauled putts from long distances and even made a number of circus shots to win the Oregon Coast Invitational main event. The victory saw him become the youngest ever winner of the Invitational.

Wobbrock walked much of the way with his family looking on. With his dad playing just a few holes in front of him, it was only fitting that he would have a chance to win his match at the perfect time.

His father, Jacob Wobbrock, had just won his match and joined the rest of the family on the 13th green. Caelen Wobbrock had a chance to close it out, but missed a tough uphill breaking putt. He told his dad he wanted to win it right there, but after a few words of encouragement he moved on to the next hole. Another big drive off the 14th tee and a second shot on the green allowed Caelen Wobbrock to close out the match. After the victory, he exchanged hugs with his father and the other relatives who turned out to watch him.

Though Caelen Wobbrock resides in Seattle, he has family on the coast and calls AGCC his hometown course. In fact, he entered his name under AGCC, so the club had two of its members facing off in Saturday’s final.

“I’ve been here for so many years,” Caelen Wobbrock said. “My uncle, dad and grandfather have been playing in this tournament since I was ten, so I was counting down the years until I got a chance to play.”

“I never really thought about that stat of being the youngest ever,” Wobbrock said. “I just turned 18 so it’s really cool.”

What makes the Saturday victory all the more impressive for Wobbrock is that he survived 36 holes.

Usually a round of golf is 18 holes, but the championship matches on Saturday can see golfers play up to 36. Since Caelen Wobbrock was up by five shots after the 14th hole, the match was called at that point since there was no way his opponent would be able to make up the ground due to the match play format.

“I play a lot of junior tournaments up in Seattle so I’ve played a bunch of 36-hole rounds,” Caelen Wobbrock said.

“Just make sure you have food and stay mentally in the match.”

The girls Grand Champs flight saw a familiar face win once again. Top amateur golfer Gretchen Johnson performed a demolition derby on Saturday as she won her match over Cappy Mack. This victory helped Johnson defend last year’s title.

There were other strong finishes Saturday for AGCC.

Tommy Mulflur joined Wobbrock and Moore as a top finisher for the men’s Grand Champs division. Mulflur was victorious over Teddy Ferguson in the Grand Champs 2nd Flight.

Ted Ferguson and Brian Boudreau were victorious in the Junior Seniors division 3rd and 4th flights.

The legends division was kind to AGCC as three of the five flights were claimed by local members: Joseph Williams won flight one, Michael Smith was victorious in flight two and Peter Goforth claimed the top spot in flight five.

Another great story was Astoria member Scott Melrose winning the Super Seniors Championship flight as a 16th seed.

His Cinderella run included a victory over No.1 seed Robb Cason of Columbia Edgewater on Thursday. He then capped off the run with a win in the championship match against fellow club member Barry Greenberg. Other local winners in the super senior category included Phil Patton, Eddie Murphy, Glen Johnson and Michael Schiedler.

Finally, the men’s side wrapped up with the senior division.

Though he didn’t come out on top in the seniors championship flight, club member Allan Laplante made it to the championship match as the No.15 seed. Local winners from the bracket were Tom Mulflur in flight two, Eric Larson in flight four and Steve Roos in flight five.

Gavin Brown of Warrenton High School won the juniors Championship flight over Oscar Vinson. On the girls side,

Reagan Hartnett defeated her Seaside teammate Lolly Rahl to claim bragging rights going into the school year.

Paul Matli