Victoria’s Ko Medals At 115th PNGA Women's Amateur; Port Alberni’s Proteau Medals At 15th Women's Mid-Amateur
Victoria's Namoi Ko (L) And Port Alberni's Christina Proteau Were Both Medalists In The 115th Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur, Ko In The Amateur And Proteau The Mid-Am - Image BC Golf
Cle Elum, Wash. - Victoria, BC's Naomi Ko won a three-way playoff to earn medalist honors and No. 1 seed after two rounds of stroke play qualifying at the Prospector Course at Suncadia in Cle Elum, Wash. at the 115th Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur; while Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, BC earned the No. 1 seed in the 15th Pacific Northwest Women's Mid-Amateur.
Both championships are conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Three giants in the Women's Amateur field are tied at the top - Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel, Princess Superal and Naomi Ko - with Ko winning the playoff for the No. 1 seed honors going into tomorrow's match play format.
Ko was named the 2014 PNGA Junior Girls' Player of the Year, and qualified for this year's U.S. Women's Open. Superal, of Sun City, Calif., won the 2014 U.S. Girls' Junior, the 2016 Hong Kong Ladies Amateur, and was medalist at the 2016 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Pauline del Rosario) where she made it to the semifinals.
Keel recently won the BC Women's Amateur, and was twice named the PNGA Junior Girls' Player of the Year (2011, 2012). Of her play today, Ko said, "It's feels really good to play well, especially on this course. It was playing really tough, especially yesterday."
Click here for Ko's post-round interview.
The Women's Amateur will begin its match-play competition July 21, which comprises 18-hole single-elimination match play for the low 32 players, with the final match being contested over 36 holes on July 23. The Women's Mid-Amateur field has been cut to the low 16 players who now advance to match play. Their 18-hole final match will also be held July 23.
For tee times, pairings and to follow along with live scoring for both championships, visit thepnga.org.
"It feels great (to earn medalist honors)," Proteau said. "That was my primary goal at the start of yesterday's round. Yesterday was really challenging (because of the windy conditions) and I didn't play my best, so today feels really good." Proteau shot rounds of 77-70, with her second round being the only round under par of the entire Mid-Amateur field. She enters match play as the No. 1 seed.
Proteau is a three-time PNGA Women's Mid-Amateur Player of the Year (2012-2014).
Click here to watch Proteau's post-round interview.
First held in 1899, the Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur Championship is one of the oldest amateur golf championships in the world. Past champions include Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers who made up the Golden Age of female golfers in the Northwest such as JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Jo Ann Washam, Pat Lesser Harbottle, Edean Ihlanfeldt, Violet Pooly Sweeney, Marcia Fisher, and Betty Jean Hulteng, among others. Past champions also include many others who would later go on to the LPGA Tour, such as Jimin Kang, Peggy Conley, Ruth Jessen and Shirley Englehorn.
The Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur and Mid-Amateur are two of 15 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
The PNGA was founded on February 4, 1899. It is a 501c3 charitable, international, amateur golf association dedicated to preserving the true spirit of golf by supporting its allied associations, conducting quality championships, and promoting activities beneficial to golfers in the Pacific Northwest. For more than a century, the Association has been a pioneer in developing competitions and services and its mission has grown and evolved. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly regional organization providing benefits and services to its members and member clubs throughout the Northwest.
115th Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur Championship
Stroke Play Qualifying
Prospector Course - Suncadia Resort
6256 Yards, Par 72
Naomi Ko, Victoria, BC - 76-74--150
Princess Superal, Sun City, Calif. - 77-73--150
Jisoo Keel, Coquitlam, BC - 78-72--150
Jacqueline Bendrick, Mercer Island, Wash. - 76-76--152
Sierra Kersten, Spokane, Wash. - 74-79--153
Michelle Kim, Surrey, BC - 74-79--153
Jamie Huo, Kent, Wash. - 79-78--157
Ellen Secor, Portland, Ore. - 81-76--157
Olivia Benzin, Tacoma, Wash. - 76-81--157
Samantha Martirez, Pasig City, Manila - 82-76--158
Marianne Li, Bellevue, Wash. - 77-82--159
Kristin Strankman, Richland, Wash. - 80-80--160
Amy Hasenoehrl, Lewiston, Idaho - 80-80--160
Jaclyn Lee, Calgary, AB - 78-82--160
Bree Wanderscheid, Goldendale, Wash. - 84-77--161
Maddie Nelson, Sammamish, Wash. - 82-79--161
Lindsey Gullikson, Tacoma, Wash. - 79-82--161
Montgomery Ferreira, University Place, Wash. - 78-83--161
Emily Campbell, Lewisville, Texas - 84-77--161
Sophie Cusack, Sydney, NSW - 82-80--162
Kelly Hooper, Spokane, Wash. - 84-79--163
Kendall Gray, Federal Way, Wash. - 85-79--164
Kinsley Bonfilio, Boise, Idaho - 82-83--165
Mersadie Tallman, Issaquah, Wash. - 79-87--166
Natalie Chu, Vancouver, BC - 83-83--166
Maddie Kapchinsky, Kelowna, BC - 82-84--166
Gloria Usu Choi, Langley, BC - 89-78--167
Alexus Song, Tacoma, Wash. - 85-83--168
Audrey Orem, Bellingham, Wash. - 85-84--169
Jalayne Martinez, Pasco, Wash. - 84-86--170
Hannah Kim, Auburn, Wash. - 91-80--171
Kayla Monroe, Tumwater, Wash. - 87-85-172
Failed to Qualify
Kylie Jack, Westbank, BC - 93-80--173
Neydeen Martinez, Pasco, Wash. - 87-88--175
Jessica Young, Wedderburn, Ore. - 87-88--175
Brooke Branigan, Bellingham, Wash. - 98-81--179
Carson Pickett, Meridian, Idaho - 92-87--179
Jamie Midkiff, Pullman, Wash. - 90-91--181
Emery Bardock, Armstrong, BC - 97-87--184
Rachelle Nielsen, Summerland, BC - 97-WD--WD
15th Pacific Northwest Women's Mid-Amateur Championship
Stroke Play Qualifying
Prospector Course - Suncadia Resort
5528 Yards, Par 72
Christina Proteau, Port Alberni, BC - 77-70--147
Amanda Jacobs, Portland, Ore. - 73-75--148
Alison Murdoch, Victoria, BC - 82-80--162
Shawn Farmer, Renton, Wash. - 79-84--163
Beth Wrigley, Spokane, Wash. - 83-81--164
Julie Williams, Bonners Ferry, Idaho - 92-74--166
Karen Kloske, Lake Cowichan, BC - 83-84--167
Molly Edmunds, Portland, Ore. - 86-82--168
Ann Johnson, Kent, Wash. - 85-84--169
Lorna Martinson, Union, Wash. - 90-79--169
Kareen Markle, Meridian, Idaho - 91-80--171
Catherine Allen, Bellingham, Wash. - 88-91--179
Brenda Pickett, Meridian, Idaho - 89-91--180
Georgia Hutchinson, Sun Valley, Idaho - 98-85--183
Teresa Miller, Renton, Wash. - 92-92--184
Catherine Chamberlain, Mercer Island, Wash. - 97-88-185
Failed to Qualify
Sharon Falkner, Mercer Island, Wash. - 97-92--189
Stacey Clarke, Imbler, Ore. - 98-94--192
Bobbi Rathvon, Nine Mile Falls, Wash. - 98-101--199
Jenny Gullikson, Tacoma, Wash. - 101-107--208