Ryan Cleveland
PERSONAL - Ryan lives in Sammamish, Washington with his wife Jacquelyn, son Wyatt (8), and daughter Charlie (10). Ryan owns a small construction company that focusses on tenant improvements , primarily remodeling commercial spaces - office, retail, restaurants, bars, etc. Ryan recently joined the Plateau Club and tries to play golf once a week.
TIE TO THE MONTEMAR - Ryan is the younger brother of this year’s favorite to win the jacket, Jay Cleveland (no pressure, Jay). My first memory of Ryan is the same as my first memory of Jay and goes all the way back to about the 5th grade. Shortly after I had moved from Seattle to Poulsbo I was playing basketball with some of my buddies at the covered basketball courts at Poulsbo Elementary School. Ryan (one year younger than me) and his big brother Jay (one year older) showed up with their dad to play some hoops also.
I continued to play hoops through high school with Jay but Ryan ended up going to Seattle Prep for high school and I didn’t see him for a number of years. Then, sometime in my early 20s, I ran into him at the gym down by Liberty Bay. He invited me to Tahoe for a week, we drove down, had way too much fun, drove back, and I don’t think I saw the kid again until a couple of year’s ago at Jay’s tournament. I recruited both Cleveland’s to The Montemar that day but only Jay made it to Scottsdale. I think Jay had enough fun to convince Ryan to jump on board in Idaho. Glad he did and hope we get Ryan for many years to come. He’s a great guy who spends the majority of his time involved with his children and their sports and another perfect fit for this tournament.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MONTEMAR – Nothing yet but hopefully he comes up with something cool. I’m sure there’s a lot of Seattle area guys who would love to play the Plateau Club, if that’s a possibility.
WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN IN 2024 – One of the Cleveland brothers is my favorite to win this tournament. It’s not Ryan. Jay is a mid-single digit handicapper and Ryan is not… yet. He’s a good athlete though and The Montemar has a very unique scoring system, one that could allow Ryan to piggy back a bit off his older brother and some random pairings and find himself hanging around come Monday. He’ll need to hit some par 3s to have any chance at winning the thing. Regardless, it’s probably safe to say Ryan is headed to Idaho for the fun.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN 2024 - The biggest key to the Montemar is showing up and having fun and Ryan did that in Idaho. He did so so much that he had already let me know he would be in Reno before he left the parking lot of Circling Raven. The golf game was solid and consistent. 99 in both the individual rounds was much better than many. The scramble team would have been great in most formats but was only average in this one. Trading Cripe for Hancock would have been the play.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2025 - Ryan is a smart guy and will start to pick up how the format works. His handicap was earned last year and is generous. A solid first round could put him in contention. Maximizing the scramble points will be huge. Most importantly, Reno is a fun place and as long as he does that Reno will be a success.
ODDS TO WIN – 55-1
FUN FACT – Went to Tahoe with Ryan and it was the first time I road a snow mobile. Nobody knew that nor taught me how. Ryan took off like he’d done it before. I tried to keep up. On one of the first turns my goggles were already so foggy I almost collided with a tree at top speed. Probably would have died.
MONTEMARS PLAYED – 1 (2024 - Coeur D’Alene)
MONTEMAR ROUNDS PLAYED – 3 (2024 - Circling Raven x 2, Coeur D’Alene Resort Course)
LIFETIME POINT TOTAL - 276 (57th)
JACKETS WON – 0
TOP 3 FINISHES – 0
TOP 5 FINISHES – 0
TOP 10 FINISHES – 0
RECORDS –0
TOURNAMENT HANDICAP – 27
INVITED BY – Jay Cleveland
PLAYERS INVITED -
PRIZES DONATED – None yet but Ryan is a resourceful guy and I’m sure he’ll come up with something cool.
