On the National (and International) Stage
Some of the region’s golfers have played their way into upcoming USGA national championships.
Jerry Pearsall served as the executive director of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA from 1995-2004. He then moved back to his beloved Montana, and plays out of Yellowstone Country Club in Billings. Having turned 55 last year and still keeping his game in shape, this summer he won the Montana State Senior Amateur, the Montana State Seniors Tournament, and qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur, which will be held Aug. 23-28 at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Tex.
Also competing in the upcoming U.S. Senior Amateur are PNGA Hall of Famer Pat O’Donnell of Happy Valley, Ore.; Gary Sherrell of Maple Valley, Wash.; Rick Corkill of Vancouver, Wash.; Darren Kuhn of Pocatello, Idaho; and Steve Wheeler of Whistler, B.C.
PNGA Hall of Famer Lara Tennant of Portland qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, to be held Aug. 21-24 at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif. This will be the sixth U.S. Senior Women’s Open she has played in.
Also qualifying for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open is Sara Griffin, a teaching professional from Sumner, Wash.
For the U.S. Mid-Amateur, being held September 13-18 at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., players from the Northwest include Jon VanDyk of Meridian, Idaho; Joe Panzeri of Boise; Taylor Schmidt of Merdian; Jonathan Lai of Bend, Ore.; Jarred Gomez of Portland, Ore.; Austin Spicer of Vancouver, Wash.; and Erik Olson of Snoqualmie, Wash. (This list is incomplete, as another qualifier is being held August 14 at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.)
In the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, being held October 4-9 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, Calif., Northwest players include Cali Hipp of Boise, Idaho; Jessica Mangrobang of Tigard, Ore.; Taya Battistella of Bellingham, Wash.; and Hannah Swanson of Forest Grove, Ore.
Northwest players qualifying for this year’s U.S. Amateur, which will be held August 11-17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., are Wyatt Brook of Kamloops, B.C.; Joshua Ince of Surrey, B.C.; Zachary Miller from Buckley, Wash.; Robbie Ziegler from Tualatin, Ore.; Jack Dukeminier of Vancouver, Wash.; Nate Smith from Tetonia, Idaho; Kade McDonough of Missoula, Mont.; Cole Rueck of Corvallis, Ore.; Collin Hodgkinson of Beaverton, Ore.; Ethan Evans of Mercer Island, Wash.; Kevin Holloman of Seattle, Wash.; Payton Taylor of Missoula, Mont.; Zach Foushee of Lake Oswego, Ore.; Max Herendeen of Bellevue, Wash,; and Wheaton Ennis of Eagle, Idaho.
On the international stage, PNGA Hall of Famer Shelly Stouffer won the Irish Senior Women’s Amateur. One by one, she is crossing them off her list. The BC Senior Women’s Amateur came first, then the PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur, followed by the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur titles. In July, Stouffer added the Irish Senior Women’s Amateur title to her resumé. It was her first time competing in the Irish national championship, which was held at Kinsale Golf Club just outside of Cork, Ireland.
