Raegan Denton wins 124th PNGA Women’s Amateur
Woodburn, Ore. – Raegan Denton of Adelaide, Australia, defeated Gabriella Kano of Fullerton, Calif., 5 and 3, in the final match to win the 124th PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship, held this week at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore. The championship was administered by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association.
Championship Links:
Denton was the medalist after the two rounds of stroke-play qualifying earlier in the week, and was the No. 1 seed in the match-play bracket. Kano was the No. 3 seed in the bracket.
Denton is a member of Australia’s High Performance Program and is ranked No. 47 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, while Kano is ranked No. 1,324. This is now the third year in a row that a player from Australia has won this championship, with Jazy Roberts winning in 2025 and Justice Bosio in 2024.
The PNGA Women’s Amateur is a USGA Exemption Event, and with her win today, Denton has earned a spot in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur, which will be held at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn from August 4-9. Because of her being in the top 50 in the WAGR ranking, she had earned an exemption already, but today’s title sealed the entry for her.
Both players put on an exhibition of nearly flawless golf in today’s scheduled 36-hole final, matching shot for shot, repeatedly finding their golf balls next to each other in the middle of the fairway, hitting nearly every green, with the match turning into a putting contest.
Kano jumped out to an early 3-up lead after six holes, dropping birdies on holes four and six while Denton bogeyed the par-5 fifth. Denton steadily climbed her way back into the match, and when Kano had rare missed greens on holes 12 and 13 in the morning’s round, Denton won both holes and took a 1-up lead. But on the par-4 18th of the morning round, Kano dropped a 40-foot birdie putt to tie the match as the players took a brief lunch break.
In the afternoon round, Denton, as she did in most of her early matches in the bracket, got stronger as the match wore on. After Kano birdied the 28th to take a 1-up lead, Denton proceeded to birdie three of the next five holes to take a 2-up lead after 27 holes.
Denton continued to grind it out in the final nine, making pars and padding her lead. But on the par-5 32nd, she put her tee shot into the right rough under a tree with 220 yards to the green, which called for a carry over a ravine. Denton didn’t hesitate, and swung away. She ended up on the front fringe, from where she chipped up and tapped in for a birdie, winning the hole and putting herself dormie – 4-up with four to play. She then sank a downhill 6-foot birdie putt on the next hole, and the match was over.
Denton, 19, will be attending Louisiana State University as a freshman in the fall, playing for the women’s golf team. She has competed in the U.S. for the past five seasons, including at last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior. In April, Denton finished T4 in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Kano is a recent graduate of University of Nevada-Reno and placed seventh in the 2026 Mountain West Championship. She also qualified for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open. Earlier this summer she competed in the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst and next week will compete in the California Women’s Amateur. This fall, Kano will be competing in the LPGA Qualifying School, attempting to earn a spot on the LPGA Tour.
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).
Opened in 1993, the OGA Golf Course was designed by Bill Robinson on 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.
This week’s championship consisted of 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying held on July 13-14, followed by a cut with the low 32 players advancing to single-elimination match play. Each match was contested over 18 holes, except for the final match, which was played over 36 holes.
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.
