Former PNGA Player of the Year Naomi Ko Wins Portland Classic Amateur Open, Earns Spot in LPGA’s Cambia Portland Classic
Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C. won the Cambia Portland Classic Amateur Open, earning a spot in the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic. Ko, who just completed her freshman year at North Carolina State and is a member of Team Canada, carded a 1-under par 71 at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore.
The Cambia Portland Classic will be held June 30-July 3, at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland and will be Ko’s first LPGA tournament.
Ko was named the PNGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year in 2014. She recently qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open which will be held the week after the Cambia Portland Classic.
Sydney Maluenda of George Fox University finished second with a round of 72 and UCLA signee Mariel Galdiano finished third at 74, both earning opportunities to compete in the tournament’s Monday qualifier alongside professionals. The qualifier will be held on Monday, June 27. The top two finishers from the Monday qualifier will earn entry into the tournament proper.
Last year’s Amateur Open winner, Gigi Stoll, a Beaverton (Ore.) High School graduate who just completed her freshman year at the University of Arizona, was unable to defend her title, shooting a 77 to finish three shots out of contention. Last year, Stoll set a course and tournament record in the Amateur Open with a 9-under par 63 at Langdon Farms.
Fifteen former Portland Classic Amateur Open participants have gone on to become members of the LPGA including current Rolex Rankings No. 2 Inbee Park and Mi Jung Hur who won the Portland Classic in 2009, just two years after participating in the Portland Classic Amateur Open.
The Cambia Portland Classic will feature the world’s top women professional golfers at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. The 72-hole tournament features a purse of $1.3 million and broadcast coverage on Golf Channel for all four rounds. Brooke Henderson won the 2015 tournament, setting a new 72-hole tournament scoring record at 21-under par. Henderson became just the second player and first since 2000 to Monday-qualify for an LPGA Tour event and go on to win. One of the hottest rising stars on the LPGA, Henderson has moved up to No. 4 on the Rolex Rankings list of the world’s top women golfers.
Tournament Golf Foundation is a local Portland area group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations for the annual LPGA event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of more than 50 local individuals.
For more information on the Cambia Portland Classic and Tournament Golf Foundation, visit www.portlandclassic.com or call 503-626-2711.
