Raegan Denton medals at 124th PNGA Women’s Amateur; bracket set
Woodburn, Ore. – Raegan Denton of Beverley, Australia, shot rounds of 70-69 to earn medalist honors at the 124th playing of the PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship, being held this week at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore. The championship is being administered by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
Denton has earned the No. 1 seed heading into the championship’s match play, which begins Wednesday with the Round of 32 in the morning and Round of 16 in the afternoon. Each match of the bracket will be contested over 18 holes, except for the final match, which will be played over 36 holes on Friday, July 17.
Championship Links:
Denton, 18, will be attending Louisiana State University as a freshman in the fall, playing for the women’s golf team. She is a member of the Australian National Team, and has competed in the U.S. for the past five seasons, including at last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior. Denton is currently ranked No. 46 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and in April finished T4 in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
For her accomplishment, Denton’s name will now be engraved on the Liz Culver Medalist Trophy. Culver won this championship in 1978, and in 1989 was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame.
The PNGA Women’s Amateur is a USGA Exemption Event, with this year’s champion earning an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn from August 4-9. This opportunity has led to an exceptionally strong field in this year’s PNGA Women’s Amateur, with Denton now leading the way.
Jazy Roberts won the 2025 PNGA Women’s Amateur, and Justice Bosio won the title in 2024. Both players are also from Australia.
This is the first PNGA championship to be held at the OGA Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the Oregon Golf Association (OGA).
First opened in 1993, the OGA GC was designed by Bill Robinson on sandy soils of what had previously been a hazelnut orchard some 30 miles south of Portland. Its affiliation with the OGA has allowed it to be an ideal destination for several of its championships, among them the Oregon Women’s Stroke Play in 2004, 2014 and 2024, as well as the Oregon Amateur Championship in 2003 and 2014. The venue has also hosted numerous USGA Qualifiers and high school championships.
First held in 1899, the PNGA Women’s Amateur is among the oldest amateur golf championships in the world. Past champions include Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers who made up the Golden Age of female golfers in the Northwest such as JoAnne Carner, Jo Ann Washam, Pat Lesser Harbottle, Edean Ihlanfeldt, Violet Pooly Sweeney, Marcia Fisher, and Betty Jean Hulteng, among others. Past champions also include many others who would later go on to the LPGA Tour, such as Gigi Stoll, Jimin Kang, Peggy Conley, Ruth Jessen and Shirley Englehorn.
The PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
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 PNGA remains committed to being a truly regional organization providing benefits and support to its member associations throughout the Northwest. For more information visit thepnga.org.
