Federal Way, Wash. – The 2014 Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s championship season kicks off this week as 48 of the top amateur golfers in the region prepare to square off in the 9^th PNGA Cup, to be held at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. on May 8-9.

The PNGA Cup was created in 2006 by past PNGA President Dr. Jack Lamey as a way of continuing the friendship and partnership of the region’s allied associations under the PNGA umbrella – British Columbia Golf, Idaho Golf Association, Oregon Golf Association and Washington State Golf Association. The annual competition consists of 48 of the finest amateur golfers in the region. Each association will send a 12-person team consisting of eight men and four women. The representation includes four mid-amateur men of 25 years of age or older, two men of 40 years or older, two senior men of 55 years or older, two mid-amateur women of 25 years or older and two senior women of 50 years or older.

The Ryder Cup-style format includes four-ball and foursome matches the first day and singles matches on the second and final day. With three matches for each player, the championship allows each competitor to compete against players from each of the other associations.

Oregon's PNGA Cup Team:

Men - Mid-Amateur 
Scott Hval, Portland; Tim Tucker, Coos Bay; Matt Hartley, Vancouver, Wash.; Michael Kloenne, West Linn  
Men - Master-40 
Charlie Rice, Bend; Dave Lydell, Aloha  
Men - Senior 
Randy Mahar, Portland; Patrick O’Donnell, Clackamas  
Women - Mid-Amateur 
Brie Stone, Veneta; Kate Hildahl, Tualatin  
Women - Senior 
Leilani Norman, Eugene; Anita Wicks, Roseburg

Hval and Kloenne were both members of Oregon's 2013 PNGA Cup squad. Hval most recently won the 70th OGA Tournament of Champions last month and won his third consecutive Oregon Senior Amateur Championship in 2013. Kloenne was also a member of Oregon's 2013 Hudson Cup Team and finished in the round of eight in the 2013 Oregon Senior Amateur and in the round of 16 in the 2013 PNGA Master-40.

Tucker, a part of the 2012 PNGA Cup, was the medalist at the 2013 USGA Mid-Amateur Qualifier at Aspen Lakes in Sisters, Ore. Hartley won the 2013 PNGA Mid-Amateur and was a member of the 2013 Hudson Cup team.

In 2013, Rice won the Oregon Stroke Play Master-40 title and finished in the round of 32 in the 2013 Oregon Amateur. Lydell was the runner up in the 2013 Oregon Mid-Amateur Championship and made it to the round of eight in the 2013 Oregon Senior Amateur.

Representing the Oregon Senior Men, Mahar won two OGA titles in 2013 - the Oregon Mid-Amateur and the Oregon Senior Stroke Play. O'Donnell was the runner-up in the 2013 U.S Senior Amateur Championship and was a member of Oregon's PNGA squad the last two years.

Brie Stone and Kate Hildahl will represent Oregon in the Women's Mid-Am Division. Stone won the 2013 Oregon Women's Mid-Am Championship, her fourth straight title, tied for second in the 2013 OGA Tournament of Champions and was on Oregon's PNGA Cup team for the past two years. Hildahl was the runner-up in both the 2013 Oregon Mid-Am and the 2013 Oregon Public Links.

Representing Oregon in the Senior Women's category are Leilani Norman and Anita Wicks. Norman won the 2013 Oregon Senior Women's Amateur and finished tied for sixth in the 2013 Oregon Senior Women's Stroke Play. Wicks was named the champion of the 2013 Oregon Senior Women's Stroke Play and was in the semifinals of the 2013 Oregon Senior Women's Amateur Championship.

For a complete roster of players competing in the 9^th PNGA Cup, please click here. To follow along with live scoring, visit www.thepnga.org.

British Columbia Golf will be attempting to defend its PNGA Cup title, having won last year on the second hole of a playoff against the team from the Washington State Golf Association, when the matches were held at Crane Creek Country Club in Boise, Idaho. British Columbia Golf also won the PNGA Cup in 2009.

The PNGA Cup is one of 15 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.