Wolfe wins 119th PNGA Women’s Amateur; Jacobs takes 19th Women’s Mid-Amateur
DuPont, Wash. – Mary Scott Wolfe of Beaverton, Ore. won the 119th PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship with a 3 and 2 victory over Cassie Kim of Yakima, Wash.; while Amanda Jacobs of Portland, Ore. won the 19th PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur with a 1-up victory over Jacqueline Bendrick of Mercer Island, Wash.
Both championships were held concurrently at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. and were conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Each championship began with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on July 19-20, followed by 18-hole single-elimination match play, with the final match for each being contested on Friday, July 23. The Women’s Amateur was a 36-hole final match, and the Mid-Amateur final match was contested over 18 holes.
Click here for complete final scoring for the Women’s Amateur, and here for the Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Click here for complete information about the Women’s Amateur, and here for information about the Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Today’s final match in the Women’s Amateur was tied after the morning round, as neither player was able to make any in-road. Wolfe had a slim 1-up lead after 28 holes, and then she caught fire on the greens. She birdied the 29th hole to go 2-up, and had a long lag for two-putt par on the 13th to maintain the advantage. On the par-3 14th, Kim put her 186-yard tee shot to five feet for what looked to be a sure win, but Wolfe dropped an 18-footer for birdie, and when Kim’s birdie try slid by the hole Wolfe suddenly had a 3-up lead.
On the short par-4 15th, Kim again put her approach shot to five feet, while Wolfe’s approach rolled off the back edge of the green. But Wolfe promptly drained her 18-footer from the fringe for birdie, and Kim had to sink her five footer just to extend the match. And Kim did just that, but Wolfe was now 3-up with three holes to play.
When the players halved the 16th with pars, the match was over and the title was Wolfe’s.
Wolfe’s road to the title was demanding. She was the No. 8 seed in the bracket, and in yesterday morning’s quarterfinal match she knocked off No. 1 seed Angela Arora of Surrey, B.C. in 19 holes. Then in yesterday afternoon’s semifinal match she defeated No. 4 seed Anastacia Johnson of Tacoma, 4 and 3.
Wolfe and Kim are teammates on the Gonzaga University women’s golf team, and Wolfe was named to the First Team All-WCC Team last year as a freshman. Wolfe won the 2019 Oregon Junior Amateur. Today’s Women’s Amateur title is her first women’s title. Two weeks ago, Wolfe finished runner-up in the Oregon Women’s Amateur.
Click here to watch Wolfe’s post-match interview.
In the Mid-Amateur final match, the No. 1 seed Jacobs squared off against No. 2 seed Bendrick. The two finalists played an even match, with neither of them able to get more than a 1-up advantage as they went back and forth.
Bendrick, who last month won the Washington Women’s Mid-Amateur title, went 1-up with a par on the 14th, but on the par-5 16th Jacobs reached the green in two, and then two-putted for birdie from 45 feet to tie the match.
On the short par-4 17th, Bendrick nearly drove the green but could not convert it to a birdie. Jacobs then dropped an 8-footer for birdie to take a 1-up lead going to the final hole. The two players traded pars on 18, and Jacobs took the match and the title, 1-up.
“I putted well all week,” Jacobs said, after today’s final match. She had shot rounds of 68-67 in the qualifying rounds to earn the No. 1 seed by 10 shots over the No. 2 seed. “All week I was hitting shots close to the hole, and when you have putts of 15 feet or less, your chances of making them go up. Jackie played a really good match today. It was a fun match to play.”
To reach the final match, Jacobs defeated her good friend Gretchen Johnson in yesterday’s semifinal match. In the last Women’s Mid-Amateur, Johnson had defeated Jacobs in the final match, so this year Jacobs was able to get past that hurdle.
For Jacobs, this is the fourth title in this championship, having also won it in 2014, 2016 and 2018. She has been named the PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year three times (2015, 2016 and 2017).
Click here to watch Jacobs’ post-match interview.
Last year’s championships were both canceled due to COVID-19.
First held in 1899, the PNGA 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 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 PNGA Women’s Amateur and Mid-Amateur are two of 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
About The Home Course
Opened in 2007, The Home Course is co-operatively owned and operated by the PNGA and Washington Golf. It has been the site of numerous state, regional and national championships, including hosting the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, and serving as stroke-play co-host of the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. Beginning in 2022, it will begin a three-year commitment of hosting the Northwest Open Invitational. Visit TheHomeCourse.com for more information.
About the Pacific Northwest Golf Association
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 member 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. Visit thePNGA.org for more information.
