Martinez and Hooper to Meet in Final Match at 60th PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship
Jalayne Martinez of Pasco, Wash. will meet Kelly Hooper of Spokane, Wash. in tomorrow’s final match at the 60th Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship, being held at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho.
The 18-hole final match will begin tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. MDT. Visit the PNGA website to follow along with live scoring of the final match. To stay connected on social media, follow @PNGALIVE on Twitter for live updates and much more, and use the hashtag #PNGAJrGirlsAm.
The championship is being conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Martinez, the No. 4 seed in the match play bracket, had won her two matches today, defeating Danika Palm of Richland, Wash. 5 and 4 in the morning’s quarterfinal match, and then defeating the championship’s medalist and No. 1 seed, Ashley Fitzgibbons of Sammamish, Wash., 2 and 1 in the afternoon’s semifinal match.
Hooper, the No. 11 seed, defeated Grace Frazier of Clarkston, Wash. 3 and 1 in the quarterfinals, and then hung on to defeat the No. 2 seed, Serena Lee of Auburn, Wash., 1-up in the semifinals. Hooper had a 4-up lead on Lee early in the match, but Lee came back to square it up after 17 holes. Hooper won the match with a par on the 18th hole.
The rich history of the PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur 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.
RedHawk Golf Course opened in July of 2014, and has already hosted the 2014 Idaho Golf Association (IGA) Junior Amateur State Championship and the 2015 IGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship.