The sleeves may have been a little short for his lanky frame, but that didn’t stop Eric Barge from smiling as he looked down at his new green jacket and prize putter.

Barge, a junior WSU elementary education major, was the winner of the Moscow Pullman Putting Championships held Saturday at the Airway Hills Driving Range miniature golf course. It just so happened that Saturday was also Barge’s 21st birthday.

As champion, he received a green blazer, a replica of the jacket presented to the winner of the Masters Tournament in PGA.

Nearly 150 participants gathered Sunday to compete for glory and prizes on the 18-hole, par 42 mini golf course, said Colin Goodman, a senior sport management major.

Goodman was part of a six-person team that put together the event as a semester-long project for a sport management class. Goodman said the group pitched the idea to Trent Goetze, PGA representative and owner of Airway Hills Driving Range, as an idea for a mock tournament, but Goetze encouraged the group to put together a real competition.

“They came to me and wanted to run a mock event. I said, 'Why don’t we do a real event?'” Goertze said.

Goertze acknowledged his part in putting together the event but emphasized the students' role, saying they deserved credit for organizing the competition.

“He was all for it, and we were all for it too,” said Greg Tyler, senior sport management major and group member.

The group also contacted sponsors who payed a $50 dollar fee to sponsor a hole and have the ability to advertise at the event. Other sponsors were allowed to host promotional activities as part of the competition. Goodman said the fee covered the major costs involved in organizing the event, including prizes and a full-service latte cart.

“GNC did a promo on hole No. 9 where if a player got a hole in one they would win a free backpack,” Goodman said. “A mother and her son both won backpacks.” The event also hosted Border 104 from 4 to 6 p.m. The radio station broadcast live and caused a few listeners to stop by and check out the event.

The entry fee was $8.00, the same as a normal green fee on the course and also gave players the chance to compete in the second round for free.

For the second round the competition was narrowed to the lowest 36 scorers and those tied for 36th place. Players completed their rounds while spectators and those finished milled around speculating on a winner and recounting their own performances.

Pullman resident Phil Vance and his two sons took part in the competition, Vance finished with a score of 99.

“It’s a great family activity and a good chance for team building,” Vance said. “It’s a good place to bring the family for some good clean fun.” Another participant, Austin Little, a junior political science major, said he enjoys having a nice mini golf course so close to Pullman. He said it is nice to have a fun activity so close that doesn’t involve drinking.

“It’s not just crappy holes in a carpet, it’s pretty cool,” Little said.

For Barge, his winning stroke may have been more due to birthday luck than practice. He said he had played the course only once before and did not do well that time. As for golfing experience, he said he had next to none. But what he did have was good enough to come back from a one-stroke deficit after round one and finish two rounds with a score of 85.