Reigning PNGA Women’s Player of the Year Gigi Stoll Sets Course Record, Wins Spot in LPGA Cambia Portland Classic
Gigi Stoll of Tigard, Ore. shot a tournament record, course record and personal best 9-under par 63 on Monday to win the Cambia Portland Classic Amateur Open at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Ore. The win earns Stoll an exemption into the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club August 13-16.
Stoll, a recent graduate of Beaverton High School who was named the 2014 PNGA Women’s Player of the Year, had also won this event last year, and then made the cut at the LPGA Tour event, in front of an impressive gallery of local supporters. Last month Stoll successfully defended her Oregon Amateur Championship title and earlier had won her second Oregon 6A High School girls state golf title.
Stoll started her record round with five birdies and an eagle on the front nine for a score of 29 at the turn. Her back nine included her only bogey of the day and three birdies to complete her record breaking round on the 6411-yard course.
“I was very aware that I had a 29 after the ninth hole and I definitely had a 59 in my mind at that point,” said Stoll. “I learned a lot playing the LPGA tournament last year and it was great to be able to play on the weekend against the best players in the world in my hometown. That experience made me a better player.”
As a junior golfer, Stoll volunteered through the Oregon Golf Association as a standard bearer for the Portland Classic for many years and will now have the chance to play in the historic LPGA tournament for the second time. She will head to the University of Arizona this fall.
“This field of players was as strong as we have seen for this event,” said Tom Maletis, president of Tournament Golf Foundation, which manages the LPGA Tour event in Portland. “For Gigi to win by five strokes is truly special. It is exciting for us at Tournament Golf Foundation and for our sponsor Cambia Health Solutions to provide these impressive women with a chance to experience golf at the highest level at our LPGA tournament.”
The Cambia Portland Classic this year will feature a purse of $1.3 million for the 72-hole event. Tournament play will be from Thursday, August 13 – Sunday August 16, at Columbia Edgewater. All four days of the event will be broadcast internationally on Golf Channel.
For more information on the Cambia Portland Classic and Tournament Golf Foundation, visit their website at www.PortlandClassic.com. Weekly tickets for the event are available on the website and daily tickets will be available at the gate. Through the Esco Charity Drive, 100 percent of all ticket sales will be donated to 14 local charities. Buyers can choose the recipient of the proceeds from their purchases from a list of participating charities. Kids under 17 are free.
