MSGA Announces 2026 Montana Golf Hall of Fame Class

The Montana State Golf Association (MSGA) will induct six individuals into the Montana Golf Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves through their accomplishments as players and contributors to the game, including professionals, superintendents, educators and organizational leaders.

The 2026 class of inductees includes: Jim Opitz (Helena), Shanda Imlay (Missoula), Pete Grass (Billings), Roger Wallace (Polson), Gary Koprivica (Missoula) and Jerry Pearsall (Billings).

“One of the MSGA’s many initiatives is to celebrate the contributions within our golf community and recognize the individuals who are part of our history, traditions and continue to make Montana Golf a special place for us all,” said Nick Dietzen, executive director of the MSGA.

The 2026 Montana Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place at various locations throughout this year’s MSGA championship calendar.

Jim Opitz

Helena’s Jim Opitz was tasked with ushering the MSGA into the 21st century after being selected in the year 2000 to replace longtime Executive Director Fraser MacDonald. Having also spent 40 years in the Helena School District coaching, teaching and serving 25 years as the town’s Activities Director, Opitz made a splash early when the MSGA headquarters was moved from Butte to Helena.

“Golf participation saw highs and lows throughout Jim’s more than 20 years of leadership, and he navigated those changing landscapes steadily,” said Nick Dietzen, Opitz’s successor as MSGA executive director. “He and the MSGA board were responsible financial stewards during that time, and the transition to GHIN handicap services has benefitted golfers across Montana.”

For more than two decades, Opitz ran some of Montana’s most high-level golf tournaments and helped grow junior golf around the state. “He saw many evolutions for the organization, most notably with the mergers of the Montana State Women’s Golf Association (MSWGA) and Montana State Senior Golf Association (MSSGA) in the past decade, creating one golf community,” Dietzen said.

In 2017 Opitz received the USGA Ike Grainger Award for 25 years of volunteer service. He retired from the MSGA in 2022.

Shanda Imlay

Shanda Imlay knows a thing or two about golf, having spent her entire life competing and working within the industry. Growing up in Missoula, she saw early success as a teenager, winning a Big Sky Open title in 1975 and following that with a State High School championship title in 1976 while playing for Missoula Sentinel. In 1977 she won a Montana State Amateur title.

Quite an athlete, Imlay played basketball for the University of Montana, but after graduating she made her way to Oregon to begin a wide-ranging career in golf. In 1982 she became the first woman ever elected to membership in the Pacific Northwest Section PGA. She went on to work in a variety of capacities, including as an executive director, tournament director, and director of Junior Golf for the Oregon Golf Association. For nearly two decades, Imlay co-owned the FUNdaMental Golf and Learning Center, which provides a variety of programs, including a four-week clinic designed to help husbands and wives enjoy the game together, working with veterans who suffer from PTSD, and educating juniors. In 2017 she was awarded the Pacific Northwest PGA Player Development Award to add to an already illustrious resume.

“Shanda’s amateur playing career was exemplary and her accomplishments are impressive in their own right,” Dietzen said. “But it is her commitment to growing the game as an instructor and champion for junior golf that has created a legacy which extends well beyond her individual playing prowess.”

In recent years, Imlay has returned to Missoula where she continues to work in the golf industry as the Rules Official for the MSGA and contributor to the MSGA’s digital magazine, 406GOLF.

“Shanda was a trailblazer for women in the PGA in Montana,” said Dietzen. “Her work at the Oregon Golf Association and as an entrepreneur in the golf space have been consistent with her genuine love of the game and desire to make the game fun, accessible and meaningful. As a member of the MSGA team in recent years, we’ve been fortunate to have her professionalism and support to help us grow.”

Jerry Pearsall

Billings’ Jerry Pearsall has been one of the most dominant senior players in Montana the last few years, having won a string of State events. In 2019 he won his first State Senior Tournament title and followed that up with another one in 2024. Pearsall was also the 2024 and 2025 State Senior Amateur Champion and even qualified for last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio.

As MSGA Executive Director Nick Dietzen commented, “Jerry’s playing career began in Billings and he has been a fixture on leaderboards since his junior days. In recent years, he has won nearly every MSGA Senior event and continues to improve his game – his playing record will continue to grow in the years to come.”

A longtime PGA Assistant Professional at Lake Hills in Billings (1986-1993), he was selected as the Rocky Mountain Section PGA’s Assistant Professional of the Year in 1991. A few years later Pearsall accepted the position of executive director at the Pacific Northwest Section PGA, which he held for nearly a decade (1995-2004), before moving back to Montana and regaining his amateur status.

“Jerry’s contributions to golf extend beyond competitive golf,” said Dietzen. “He is known first and respected for his exceptional talent and playing achievements. His work as executive director at the Pacific Northwest Section PGA for nearly a decade took him away from Montana, but we’re glad he returned home.”

Peter Grass

Exactly 51 years ago, Peter Grass started work at Hilands Golf Club in Billings as a bag boy, washing clubs and cleaning carts, eventually ascending to the role of superintendent. Under Grass’ direction, the impeccable playing conditions at Hilands has remained constant, widely regarded as one of the premier-conditioned courses in the state.

“Pete is a legend at Hilands Golf Club,” Dietzen says. “Thanks to Pete’s leadership and work there, the facility was the envy of peers throughout the state and beyond.”

Along with his work at Hilands, Grass is a past president of Peaks and Prairies and served on the board of directors of First Tee Montana and the board of directors of the nearly century-old Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). He later served as the GCSAA’s national vice-president in 2015 and national president in 2016. Grass carried the distinction of being the first president in GCSAA history that came from a 9-hole facility.

With decades of experience and even having attended the Masters nine times, Grass gained acclaim once again when he won the 2022 Leo Feser Award from the GCSAA, which is given to the best superintendent-written article published in Golf Course Management Magazine. His article, “I need help (and I don’t mean labor),” inspired many in the industry as it dealt with the mental health side of working in the game. After retiring as superintendent from Hilands, Grass continued his writing work with the MSGA by providing regular articles for the organization’s digital magazine, 406GOLF.

“No one has been more dedicated to serving his profession than Pete Grass,” said Dietzen. “His leadership locally, regionally and nationally through the GCSAA is representative of his commitment to the critical work of superintendents in the golf industry; but he extended far beyond that, emphasizing the whole person and the importance of mental health and work-life balance, which was uncommon in the industry.”

Roger Wallace

Roger Wallace has a distinguished history as a player, PGA golf professional, and organizational leader throughout his career in the sport. A three-time champion in both the Stroke Play and Match Play Championships held by the Western Montana Chapter PGA of America, Wallace has his share of success on the course with over 100 victories at Western Montana Chapter PGA Pro-Am events.

Wallace spent 36 years working at Polson Bay Golf Course. “Roger’s contributions in golf are numerous,” Dietzen says, “but his ‘golf tree’ of PGA professionals, apprentices and players coming out of Polson Bay have roots that spread far and wide and is as impressive as anyone in the Treasure State.”

Wallace also served as a founding member and president of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Junior Fund, as well as serving on the National Board of Directors for PGA America. He’s collected many accolades along the way, including the 2014 PGA of America’s National Bill Strausbaugh Award which honors PGA Professionals who exhibit exceptional leadership abilities and dedication to their local communities. Along with the National Award, Wallace has collected four Pacific Northwest Section Bill Strausbaugh Awards along with being named the section’s Golf Professional of the Year four times.

“Roger is respected, admired and has been recognized by his peers locally, statewide and throughout the Pacific Northwest,” Dietzen stated. “His leadership has extended well beyond Polson where he’s been synonymous and instrumental in the growth of one of Montana’s most respected golf facilities.”

Preceding his MSGA Hall of Fame induction, Wallace was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Hall of Fame in 2016 as well as being the first golfer inducted into the Community Colleges of Spokane Athletic Hall of Fame.

Gary Koprivica

Commenting on Gary Koprivica’s golf career, MSGA Executive Director Nick Dietzen summed it up, “Gary’s distinguished playing career started as a junior in Butte and continued on through the University of Montana and throughout his amateur and senior amateur playing career with 13 USGA national championships to his credit.”

From a young age, Koprivica found success on the golf course. Starting with his participation in the National Junior Championships as a teenager, Koprivica was the 1963 State High School golf champion for Butte High, before moving on to the University of Montana where he was selected 1st Team All-Conference four times and was part of a 1964 team that won the Big Sky Conference Championship. During those years he also appeared in two U.S. Amateur Championships (1966, 1967).

Koprivica, now of Missoula, continued playing elite golf well into adulthood. He is a three-time Barnett Memorial Champion (1977, 1997, 1999) and a Montana State Mid-Amateur Champion (2002). He returned to the national stage by competing in two U.S. Senior Amateurs (2001, 2002), two U.S. Senior Opens (1997, 2002) and made three British Senior Amateur appearances where he finished in the top 10 twice.

“As a former Mid-Amateur Champion, Gary has taken pride in his accomplishments, and although a fierce competitor he has been a genuine advocate and ambassador for Montana golf for the past six decades,” said Dietzen.

About the MSGA
The MSGA is a nonprofit organization of member clubs and individual members, governed by a board of directors made up of enthusiastic golfers from across Montana. Dedicated to serving the game of golf in Montana, the MSGA strives to provide opportunities to grow the game, support and steward the game by providing services to benefit clubs, individual members, and partner organizations within the golf community.

Founded in 1917 with the purpose of identifying the best men’s and women’s amateur players, the MSGA has grown to offer seven championships with several divisions including the longest running statewide amateur championships – the Montana State Amateur and Montana State Women’s Amateur, both of which have been contested 108 times. The MSGA provides financial support to junior golfers via free memberships, junior grant programs for grades K-8, scholarships for graduating high school students as well as support of collegiate golf programs throughout the state. Additionally, the MSGA supports the work of superintendents, golf professionals and fosters volunteer education and engagement in both rules and course rating. To learn more, visit msgagolf.org