Pacific Northwest Golf Association Selects 2018 Players of the Year

The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) has announced the 2018 Players of the Year for the region.

Those honored include Men’s Player of the Year, Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C.; Women’s, Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C.; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Gretchen Johnson of Portland, Ore.; Senior Men’s, Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash.; Senior Women’s, Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore.; Junior Boys’, Ian Siebers of Bellevue, Wash.; and Junior Girls’, Brittany Kwon of Bremerton, Wash.

Click here for a list of playing accomplishments of this year’s recipients, as well as a complete history of all past PNGA Player of the Year recipients.

Men’s Player of the Year:

Chris Crisologo (Richmond, B.C.)

Crisologo graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2018, where he was named First Team All-GNAC all four years playing for the men’s golf team. In 2018, he won the BC Amateur and South American Amateur, and qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the second year in a row. At the RBC Canadian Open, he tied for 45th, competing against PGA Tour players. A semifinalist for the 2018 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award, Crisologo is a member of the Canadian National Amateur Team.

Women’s Player of the Year:

Mary Parsons (Delta, B.C.)

Now a junior on the Indiana University women’s golf team, Parsons set the school’s single-season stroke average record in her freshman year, when she also set a new school record for lowest 18-hole round. In 2018, Parsons won the BC Women’s Amateur, and made the Round of 64 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and Round of 16 at the Women’s Western Amateur. She also tied for 43rd in both the Canadian Women’s Amateur and Big-10 Conference Championship.

Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year:

Reid Hatley (Hayden Lake, Idaho)

Hatley was named the Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. He won the 2018 Men’s Mid-Amateur for both the PNGA and WSGA, and was a quarterfinalist in the PNGA Men’s Amateur, competing against college players. Hatley finished third in the Washington State Amateur, tied for sixth in the Mexican Amateur, and qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur. He also tied for 15th in the Northwest Open, competing against the region’s PGA professionals. Hatley was also selected as the 2018 WSGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.

Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year:

Gretchen Johnson (Portland, Ore.)

Johnson made a mark on the regional and national scene in 2018. She won the OGA Women’s Tournament of Champions, finished second in the Oregon Women’s Mid-Amateur, runner-up in the PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur, and made the Round of 16 at the Oregon Women’s Amateur. Her most high-profile finish in 2018 was being a semifinalist in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Senior Men’s Player of the Year:

Tom Brandes (Bellevue, Wash.)

This is now the seventh time that Brandes has received this award. He won four titles in 2018, including the PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur, Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur, WSGA Senior Men’s Champion of Champions, and the Senior Royal Oaks Invitational. He also made the Round of 64 in the U.S. Senior Amateur, and tied for seventh in the Washington Senior Open. Brandes was also selected as the 2018 WSGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year.

Senior Women’s Player of the Year:

Lara Tennant (Portland, Ore.)

Tennant was named the Senior Women’s Player of the Year for the second year in a row. In 2018, she won the Oregon Women’s Senior Amateur and the Oregon Women’s Mid-Amateur. Her most significant accomplishment of the year came when she won the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, a national title. Tennant also qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, and finished second in the California Senior Women’s Amateur.

Junior Boys’ Player of the Year:

Ian Siebers (Bellevue, Wash.)

Siebers won an astonishing five titles this year, which include two AJGA victories, two WJGA titles, and the PNW PGA Junior Championship, where he would eventually finish ninth in the Junior Boys’ PGA National Championship. He made the round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur, and finished fourth in the WIAA 3A High School Championship. Siebers was also selected as the 2018 WSGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year.

Junior Girls’ Player of the Year:

Brittany Kwon (Bremerton, Wash.)

In 2018, Kwon won two WJGA titles, as well as the WJGA District 3 Championship, and finished second in the WJGA State Championship. She won an AJGA title, and finished 26th in the IMG Academy Junior World Championship. Kwon also won the WIAA 3A High School State Championship for the third consecutive year. She was also selected as the 2018 WSGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year.

The PNGA Player of the Year candidates are nominated by the various state and provincial golf associations that comprise the PNGA (Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington), and are selected by a vote of the PNGA Championship Committee and members of the Northwest Golf Media Association. The Mid-Amateur category was created in 2012. The awards are officially presented at the PNGA Annual Meeting in the spring.

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 allied associations, conducting quality championships, and promoting activities beneficial to golfers in the Pacific Northwest. For more than a century, the Association has been a pioneer in developing competitions and services and its mission has grown and evolved. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly regional organization providing benefits and services to its members and member clubs throughout the Northwest.