Pacific Northwest Golf Association Selects Players of the Year for 2014
The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) has announced the Players of the Year for the 2014 championship season. The remarkable collection of recipients includes Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. in the Men’s category; Gigi Stoll of Beaverton, Ore. in the Women’s category; Kevin Carrigan of Victoria, B.C. in the Men’s Mid-Amateur category; Christina Proteau of Port Alberni, B.C. in the Women’s Mid-Amateur category; Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. in the Senior Men’s category; Kareen Markle of Meridian, Idaho in the Senior Women’s category; Graysen Huff of Eagle, Idaho in the Junior Boys’ category; and Naomi Ko of Victoria B.C. in the Junior Girls’ category.
Svensson put together an impressive and consistent championship record in 2014. As a junior at Barry University in Florida, Svensson won seven of the 12 NCAA Division II events he competed in, a record that earned him the Jack Nicklaus Award for best Division II golfer in the nation. He finished T8 in the Canadian Amateur Championship, and T4 in the BC Amateur Championship. Svensson competed in the World Amateur Team Championships, where he took 7th place individually, and 2nd in the team competition.
Stoll put together an incredible season in both the junior and amateur ranks. She was crowned champion in the OGA Women’s Champion of Champions, the Oregon Women’s Amateur Championship, and the Oregon Junior Amateur Championship. Stoll was runner-up in the Oregon Women’s Stroke Play Championship after losing in a playoff, and made it to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship. Despite winning three amateur events in Oregon in 2014, Stoll’s greatest accomplishment may have come when she not only qualified for, but then made the cut in the LPGA Portland Classic, finishing 52nd in the professional event.
This is Carrigan’s third consecutive PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honor. Carrigan had several top finishes in big events in 2014. He placed T6 in the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, T7 in the BC Amateur Championship, and T10 in the Sahalee Players Championship. Carrigan also finished T43 in the Canadian Amateur Championship.
Proteau is also receiving her third consecutive PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honor. Her year included a third straight run as champion of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur. Proteau was the BC Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, finished T4 in the BC Women’s Amateur Championship, and T49 in the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. Proteau made an incredible run in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, finishing as a quarterfinalist. Locally, Proteau took third place in the Washington State Women’s Amateur Championship.
Brandes compiled yet another superb season in 2014. He repeated as champion in the Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur for the fourth straight year. He qualified for and competed in both the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, where he made it to the Round of 16. Brandes was selected as a member of Team Washington in the USGA Men’s State Team Championship again this year, where he finished T31 individually. Brandes’ impressive season also included runner-up finishes in the Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur Championship, the Pacific Northwest Men’s Master-40 and the Washington State Senior Men’s Champion of Champions. Brandes placed fourth in the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur, fourth in the Washington Senior Open, and fourth in the Royal Oaks Invitational. This is Brandes’ fourth consecutive PNGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year.
Markle repeats as PNGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year after she put together yet another impressive run locally as well as nationally. She won the Idaho Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, and finished in the Round of 16 in the Pacific Northwest Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Markle finished as a semifinalist in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, and also advanced to match play in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, finishing in the Round of 32.
Huff was crowned champion at the AJGA PING Phoenix Junior at ASU Karsten in Tempe, Ariz. He also finished runner-up in the AJGA Ryan Moore Junior Championship, held locally in Lakewood, Wash. Huff competed in the Callaway Junior World Championship where he placed T28, and the PGA Junior Championship, with a T22 finish. He took third in the IGA Men’s Amateur Championship, and was a member of the Idaho USGA Men’s State Team.
Ko capped her remarkable year with a win at the BC Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship. She compiled top finishes in many events, including a fourth-place finish at the BC Women’s Amateur Championship, fourth in the Canadian Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship, runner-up in the AJGA St. Louis, and 13th in the AJGA Junior Girls’ Championship.
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. Awards are given annually in eight different categories: Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Junior Boys’, Junior Girls’, Men’s Mid-Amateur and Women’s Mid-Amateur. The awards are officially presented at the PNGA Annual Meeting in the spring.
