Back to all posts

Aug 16, 2018

Warford and Geissler to meet in final of PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur; Anderson and Arora to square off in Junior Girls’ final

Drew Warford of Snoqualmie, Wash. and Dennis Geissler of Burlington, Wash. will meet in the final match of the 64th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur; while Cosette Anderson of Bellevue, Wash. will face Angela Arora of Surrey, B.C. in the final match of the 63rd Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur.

Players get set to begin their morning Thursday morning rounds at the PNGA Junior Amateur Championships.

Both championships are being held concurrently at TimberStone Golf Course in Caldwell, Idaho and are being conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).

The final match in the Junior Boys’ Amateur tees off at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, August 17; while the final match for the Junior Girls’ tees off at 7:40 a.m. Both final matches are being contested over 36 holes.

Championship Links:

Warford, the medalist and No. 1 seed entering match play, has cruised his way so far through the bracket. In this afternoon’s semifinal match against Stephen Dai, Warford birdied the first seven holes, building a 4-up lead after nine holes. He would finish with nine birdies in the 15 holes of the match, on his way to winning 5&3.

“Yeah, I got off to a quick start,” Warford said. “And I knew that was putting pressure on Stephen. I made some putts, and that was that. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s final match. I have a good strategy for match play, which is why I love it, and I really love this event. I’m hoping to go back-to-back tomorrow.”

Warford is looking to add to his already impressive summer accomplishments. Already on his quest to defend his title in this championship, earlier this summer he won the Washington 4A High School Boys’ State individual championship title, and was the medalist at a sectional qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur. He will be a junior at Mount Si High School in North Bend, Wash., and plays on the school’s golf team. He learned the game from his father Chad, who played on the University of Washington golf team.

In tomorrow’s 36-hole final match, Warford will face Geissler, who recently graduated from Burlington-Edison High School and will attend St. Martin’s University in the fall to play on their men’s golf team. Earlier this year, Geissler won the Bill Egbers Memorial Golf Tournament. He is the No. 11 seed in this week’s championship.

Drew Warford (left) and Dennis Geissler.

In this morning’s quarterfinal match in the Junior Girls’ Amateur, Hannah Elaimy of Seattle defeated No. 1 seed Montgomery Ferreira of Tacoma, Wash., and then faced Anderson in this afternoon’s semifinal match. Anderson was 4-up on Elaimy after 11 holes this afternoon, but Elaimy won four of the next five holes to square the match. Anderson won the 17th, but Elaimy again came back, winning the 18th to square it and send it to extra holes. Anderson would win the match on the 20th hole.

Anderson has signed a letter of intent to play golf at Elon University in North Carolina.

Arora defeated Gihoe Seo of Mercer Island, Wash. in the other semifinal match in the Junior Girls’ Amateur, 3&2. Arora had earlier won the BC Bantam Girls’ Championship.

Anderson is the No. 13 seed, and Arora is the No. 7 seed.

Cosette Anderson (left) and Angela Arora.

The rich history of the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship includes past champions such as World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples, Web.com Tour players Alex Prugh and Andrew Yun, and John Bodenhamer, the former CEO and executive director of the PNGA who now is a senior director at the USGA.

The storied history of the PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur includes past champions Jo Ann Washam, Peggy Conley, Joan Edwards-Powell, Mary Budke, and JoAnne Gunderson Carner, all of whom would later be inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame after storied amateur and professional careers. Other past champions include current LPGA Tour players Paige Mackenzie and Jimin Kang.

To be eligible for the Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ and Girls’ Amateurs, contestants must be 18 years of age or younger on August 17, 2018.

These championships are two of 15 regional championships conducted annually by the PNGA.

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.

To join the conversation on social media, follow PNGA Championships on Twitter @PNGALIVE and use the hashtag #PNGAJrAm for live tweets and updates.