59th Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship Begins Today at Olympia Country & Golf Club
The 59th Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship begins today at Olympia (Wash.) Country & Golf Club as the region’s finest girl junior golfers will compete for top honors. The championship is being held August 11-14 and is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
The championship consists of 18 holes of stroke play qualifying to determine flights for the match play portion of the championship. The lowest 16 scorers from the qualifying round will advance to the Championship Flight, with each of the remaining flights being comprised of eight contestants. All matches are contested over 18 holes with consolation matches to follow.
Among the players to watch for are Marianne Li of Bellevue, Wash. who was runner-up in the 2012 championship; and Lauryn Keating of Elma, Wash., who just competed for Team Washington in the Girls’ Junior Americas Cup.
Last year Kendall Gray of Federal Way, Wash. won the championship, which was held at The Links Golf Club in Post Falls, Idaho.
The rich history of the PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship has included past champions Jo Ann Washam, Peggy Conley, Joan Edwards-Powell, Mary Budke, and JoAnne Gunderson Carner, all of whom would later be inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame after storied amateur and professional careers. Other past champions include current LPGA Tour players Paige Mackenzie and Jimin Kang.
To be eligible for the Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship, contestants must not have reached their 18th birthday by the final day of the competition. This is one of 16 regional championships conducted annually by the PNGA.
One of the oldest clubs in the state, Olympia Country & Golf Club recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation to its clubhouse and the course. Visit www.olygolfclub.com.