Pacific Northwest Golf Association and Pacific Northwest Section PGA to Induct Five at Joint Hall of Fame Ceremony
For the sixth time in Northwest golf history, the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) and the Pacific Northwest Section PGA (PNWPGA) will conduct a joint Hall of Fame ceremony to honor inductees from each organization. This combined Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. on April 23, 2022.
Being inducted this year for the PNGA are Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore.; Pat O’Donnell of Happy Valley, Ore.; and Mike Gove of Lake Stevens, Wash. The PNWPGA will be inducting Marcus King of Seattle, Wash. and Mark Gardner of Spokane, Wash.
For information about attending the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on April 23, contact Marie Hasegawa at the PNGA office at 206-526-1238 or [email protected], or click here to purchase tickets.
The two associations began discussions in 2009 about the possibility of unifying their two induction ceremonies, and agreed upon one combined ceremony every two years to honor inductees from both organizations. Their respective Halls of Fame recognize those who have distinguished themselves through outstanding playing accomplishments as well as contributions to the game in the region.
“Every two years the PNGA and the Pacific Northwest Section of the PGA honor individuals who have made contributions to the game of golf through their competitive accomplishments or contributions made in a volunteer capacity,” said PNGA President Ben Stodghill. “The inductees this year have brought recognition to the Pacific Northwest due to their championship play on a regional, national or international level of competition. The golf community is humbled and proud to honor these individuals.”
Said Howie Pruitt, PNWPGA president and PGA director of golf operations at Aspen Lakes Golf Club in Sisters, Ore.: “Not only has the collaboration of this Hall of Fame induction ceremony helped to solidify the relationships between our organizations, it has also granted us the ability to recognize the giants of the game that came before us, to whom all of us in the golf business owe a debt of gratitude. We stand not only on the shoulders of the leaders who came before us, but we stand in awe of the devotion and dedication of this year’s inductees. On behalf of the Members and Associates and staff of the Pacific Northwest Section of the PGA of America, it is an honor to thank you for your service and welcome you to the Hall of Fame.”
Lara Tennant attended Central Catholic High School in Portland, with the girls’ golf team being founded her freshman year. By her junior year, the girls’ team won the state high school championship, with Tennant playing a starring role. She played four years at the University of Arizona on a full golf scholarship, also earning Academic All-American honors. Despite marriage and a large family (she has five children), she continued to play whenever she could, and gradually, inevitably, inexorably, the victories started to accumulate. Tennant has won 14 state titles in Oregon, and was named PNGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year four times (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021). She turned 50 in 2017, becoming eligible for senior championships. She won three consecutive U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs (2018, 2019, 2021), won the 2019 British Senior Women’s Amateur, and has competed in 21 USGA national championships so far. In each national championship she’s played in, she’s had a family member as her caddie. Tennant has served more than two decades on the Executive Committee of the Oregon Golf Association, as co-chair of Junior Golf. Click here for Tennant’s full bio and full list of accomplishments.
Marcus King embodies service to the Professional Golfers Association, to his fellow PGA Professionals and to the community. He has served 16 years in governance of the Pacific Northwest Section and Western Washington Chapter, highlighted by his term as president of the Section in 2013-2014. He has a record of committee service spanning three decades, including a term on the National Apprentice Committee. The general manager of Sahalee Country Club, King has mentored many PGA Members to become general managers at their own facilities. His accomplishments have earned him 10 Section awards ‒ including the highest honor of Golf Professional of the Year in 2013 ‒ and he is only the second member to have been awarded four different Pacific Northwest Section awards. King also has an impressive history of volunteer service and is a champion of the Special Olympics. He has volunteered as a state, national and international coach and trainer for Special Olympics Golf and served as the Golf Commissioner and organizer in the 2018 games in Seattle.
Mike Gove first walked onto a golf course when he was seven years old. He soon started working as a caddie at Sand Point Country Club, something which he continued to do even during his college years. Gove qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur three years in a row (1972, 1973, 1974), making it to the quarterfinals in the 1974 national championship. At Weber State University, he was the Big Sky Conference champion in 1976, and was named an NCAA Collegiate All-American three years in a row (1976, 1977, 1978). In the fall of his junior year, Gove won all five tournaments he played in, and would eventually accumulate 11 individual collegiate titles. In 1978, he won the Pacific Coast Amateur, held that year at Sahalee Country Club, finishing 15 shots ahead of the second-place finisher, a stunningly dominant performance against a field that included future World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples. He finished runner-up in the 1979 Western Amateur and earned a spot on the 1979 U.S. Walker Cup team, on which he played a pivotal role. This earned Gove an automatic invitation to play in the 1980 Masters. The Monday following the Masters, he turned professional. Gove played on the PGA TOUR until 1986, before starting a career as a PGA club professional, with long tenures at Astoria (Ore.) Golf and Country Club and since 2002 has been the director of golf at Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore, Wash. Click here for Gove’s full bio and full list of accomplishments.
Rarely has one person accomplished so much at such a high level in service to the Professional Golfers Association, playing and promoting the game of golf as Mark Gardner. He has served 18 years in Inland Empire Chapter governance, including three terms as president and chairing four committees. He also spent 10 years on the Pacific Northwest Section board of directors. An accomplished player, Gardner won the 1998 Section Championship, where he qualified for the PGA Championship. He is a 10-time participant in the Hudson Cup and Senior Hudson Cup Matches ‒ earning the prestigious Bob McKendrick Award ‒ and won Inland Empire Chapter Player of the Year honors seven times. A tireless promoter of golf, Gardner co-founded the Rosauers Open and the IEPGA Assistant Championship. As director of golf at The Creek at Qualchan, he hosted the WIAA State High School championships 10 times and the U.S. Amateur Public Links qualifying three times. He co-founded The First Tee of the Inland Northwest, also serving on its board of directors, as well as the boards of directors of multiple other Spokane-area organizations promoting youth sports.
Pat O’Donnell started strong in the game, left it for a while, and then came back to build an unmatched amateur career. He played on the men’s golf team for two years at Mt. Hood Community College, and competed in the 1972 U.S. Amateur, then briefly entered the PGA apprentice program. He left the game in 1978, regained his amateur status, got married, had two children, and began a long career working in the Boeing facility in northeast Portland. Despite the layoff, he still won a couple of club championships in the 1990s, but then took another hiatus from the game for a few years. But when O’Donnell turned 50 in late 2003, he was ready to play. His first state title came in 2007, when he won the Oregon Stroke Play Championship, and the floodgates opened. Over the next 15 years, he compiled a list of victories unmatched in regional golf circles, winning 23 state titles in Oregon, qualifying for 11 USGA national championships, finishing runner-up in the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur, and earning a spot on 15 Senior Hudson Cup teams. O’Donnell was named PNGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year three times (2009, 2016, 2019). Click here for O’Donnell’s full bio and full list of accomplishments.
The PNGA and PNWPGA each have their own respective Halls of Fame that already include many of the Northwest’s finest golfers, with the PNGA honoring the amateurs and the PNWPGA honoring the PGA professionals. The PNGA established their Hall of Fame in 1978, and it currently has 69 amateur golfers as members. Click here to view a complete list of inductees and a full list of their accomplishments. The PNWPGA established their Hall of Fame in 1981, and it currently has 56 members. Click here to view a complete list of inductees and their bios.
The PNGA and PNWPGA will continue to have a separate selection process for inductees into their respective Halls. However, members of both Halls will someday be showcased together as one combined display at the future Northwest Golf House, which will be located at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.
About the Pacific Northwest Section PGA
The Pacific Northwest Section is one of the 41 geographically separated districts which make up the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. The Section provides services for the PGA golf professionals throughout the Northwest, and is divided into five chapters: Western Washington, Central Washington, Inland Empire, Western Montana, and Oregon. The Pacific Northwest Section is the largest in the country geographically, and with over 1,100 members, apprentices, and novices, ranks sixth in the number of golf professionals. Its membership is a group of professionals dedicated to making golf a better game. They are the club professionals throughout the Northwest who are responsible for the day-to-day activities at the many facilities throughout the Section. They are the driving force behind growing the game through programs like Drive Chip and Putt and PGA Junior League Golf. Visit www.pnwpga.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. The original purpose of the PNGA was to conduct a regional amateur championship for men and women, and for 123 years the Association has been a pioneer in developing and providing competitions and services to Northwest golfers. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly regional organization, providing benefits to more than 200,000 individuals through its member associations.
