Szentanai wins 70th PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur; Conser triumphs in 69th PNGA Junior Girls’
Nampa, Idaho – Aidan Szentanai from Boise, Idaho, defeated fellow Boisean Andy Metzler in the final match, 1-up, to win the 70th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship; while Madeleine Conser from Portland, Ore., defeated Tatum Otto from Bellevue, Wash., 7 & 6 to claim the 69th Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur title.
The two championships were held concurrently this week at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho. Both are recognized as counting events for the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and the AJGA Performance Based Entry.
The championships began on Monday, August 11, with 36 holes of stroke play qualifying to determine seeding for match play. Subsequent matches were contested over 18 holes in a single-elimination format, except for today’s two final matches, which were both scheduled as 36-hole contests.
Championship Links:
Junior Boys’:
Junior Girls’:
Szentanai and Metzler played steadily alongside each other in their morning match, and were tied at the turn. Szentanai’s pace increased throughout the morning second nine, and he wound up with a 3-up lead over Metzler entering the afternoon round.
Not giving up, Metzler tied the match after 26 holes. Szentanai went 2-up again after 31 holes, but won two of the next three holes to tie it up again after 34 holes. Szentanai won the 35th hole, though, and when the two players each parred the 36th, Szentanai had his 1-up triumph.
Szentanai won the 2024 Idaho Junior Amateur and finished second in that same championship this year. Metzler has two AJGA top 10 finishes in AJGA events this year, showing both have had consistent seasons.
Szentainai’s name is now among those of World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples, Korn Ferry Tour players Alex Prugh and Andrew Yun, and John Bodenhamer, as PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur champions.
In the Junior Girls’ Amateur, Conser opened an early lead, and expanded it. Making the turn of the morning round 3-up, Conser kept pouring in birdies and eventually found herself 7-up after the morning round. In the afternoon round, Conser’s lead got as high as 10-up before Otto got a few back. Conser closed out the match with a par on the 30th hole.
Conser’s win marks her first in a PNGA championship. She is currently No. 199 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and No. 844 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). She won the Oregon Junior Amateur earlier this year and finished in a tie for fifth at the AJGA Kevin Harvick Foundation Junior Championship last week.
Otto is one week removed from a fourth-place finish at the WJGA State Championship and won the 2024 WJGA Joel Dahmen Invitational.
Conser joins PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur past champions such as Jo Ann Washam, Peggy Conley, Joan Edwards-Powell, Mary Budke, and JoAnne Gunderson Carner, all of whom were later inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame after storied amateur and professional careers. Other past champions include LPGA Tour players Paige Mackenzie and Jimin Kang.
To be eligible for the PNGA Junior Boys’ and Girls’ Amateur Championships, contestants must not have reached their 19th birthday by midnight of August 15, 2025, and must have a Handicap Index or Factor not exceeding 8.4 for Boys or 12.4 for Girls.
These championships are two of 11 major regional amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
