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Aaren Ziegler of Canby, Ore. came from behind in today’s final match to win the 113th Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur; while Amanda Jacobs of Seattle took control early and held on to win the 13th Pacific Northwest Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Both championships were held concurrently at Lewiston (Idaho) Golf & Country Club, and were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Ziegler, the championship’s No. 1 seed after earning medalist honors in the 36-hole qualifying prior to match play, found herself quickly 2-down to Tyler Barker after six holes. Barker, the reigning IGA Women’s Four-Ball champion (with her sister, Gabrielle), had marched her way through the match-play bracket to face Ziegler in the final.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Ziegler, when asked how it felt to be a two-time winner of the championship. “I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen here. This will probably be my last summer playing as an amateur because I’ll be a senior this coming year. Tyler is obviously a really good player and she hits the ball really far, so I knew she would probably have birdies on the par-5s so I would have to make up for it on the other holes.”
The match went back and forth for most of the scheduled 36-hole match, but after 29 holes Ziegler had built a 3-up lead and held on from there for the 2 and 1 victory.
This is the second time Ziegler has won this championship, having also won in 2011 when it was held at Port Ludlow (Wash.) Golf Club. She will be a senior in the fall playing for the University of Wisconsin.
First held in 1899, 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, Betty Jean Hulteng, among others. Past champions also include many who would later go on to the LPGA Tour, such as Jimin Kang, Peggy Conley, Ruth Jessen and Shirley Englehorn.
In the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, Jacobs defeated Brie Stone, the championship’s No. 1 seed, 4 and 2. The victory was somewhat sweet revenge for Jacobs, who had finished runner-up in last year’s championship. Not wanting to let this year’s opportunity pass her by, she immediately built herself a 5-up lead after just eight holes, and held off Stone’s late rally for the win.
“I’ve played in a lot of PNGA championships,” said Jacobs. “So it feels great to finally have my name on one of the trophies. To see all the great names on there for all the championships, it’s pretty great. Brie is a great player and I really enjoyed playing with her. When she was making her comeback on the back nine I was able to put together a couple of solid shots, which helped.”
