Federal Way, Washington – The 2015 Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s (PNGA) championship season kicks off this week as 48 of the top amateur golfers in the region prepare to square off in the 10th PNGA Cup, to be held May 12-14 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.

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.

Each association has selected 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 annual Ryder Cup-style competition 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.

British Columbia Golf will be attempting to claim their third consecutive PNGA Cup title. The BC Golf team entered the final day at The Home Course in 2014 with a significant lead, but team Oregon Golf Association put on a tremendous run, claiming 10 of the 12 matches that day, only to fall a half point short of BC Golf.

This year the Oregon Golf Association will host the event at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, knowing a thing or two about winning the event, claiming three consecutive titles from 2010-2012. This will be the third PNGA Cup hosted in Oregon.

Designed by renowned golf course architect and PNGA Hall of Famer A.V. Macan, Columbia Edgewater Country Club was founded in 1925. The club has been the site of numerous tournaments, including the PGA Tour’s Portland Open, the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic (which it still hosts today), the Northwest Open, the Oregon Open, and eight times the site of the Oregon Amateur.

Oregon's PNGA Cup Team:

Men - Mid-Amateur: Scott Hval, Portland; Justin Kadin, Corvallis; Matt Hartley, Vancouver, Wash.; Joel Johnson, West Linn  
Men - Master-40: Charlie Rice, Bend; Jeff Ward, Bend  
Men – Senior: Randy Mahar, Portland; Patrick O’Donnell, Clackamas  
Women - Mid-Amateur Brie Stone, Veneta; Rosie Cook, Bend  
Women - Senior Leilani Norman, Eugene; Anita Wicks, Roseburg

Scott Hval, Justin Kadin, Matt Hartley, and Joel Johnson are representing Team Oregon in the Men’s Division. Hval is competing in his 6th PNGA Cup overall and has also represented Oregon as a part of three Hudson Cup Teams. He won the OGA Tournament of Champions in 2014 and won three straight Oregon Senior Amateur Championships from 2012-2014.  Kadin is competing in his first PNGA Cup.  Along with being the medalist of the 2013 U.S. Amateur Qualifier at the OGA Golf Course, he has reached semifinals and quarterfinals of the Oregon Amateur in 2013 and 2011, respectively.  Hartley is competing in his first PNGA Cup after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2014 Oregon Amateur, and tying for 5th in both the 2014 Oregon Public Links Championship and the 2014 Tournament of Champions. He also won the 2013 PNGA Mid-Amateur.  Johnson is making his first PNGA Cup appearance after winning the 2014 Oregon Mid-Amateur and tying for 14th in the 2014 Oregon Stroke Play Championship.

Bend residents Charlie Rice and Jeff Ward are playing for Team Oregon in the Men’s Master-40 Division. Rice is a second year PNGA Cup player after playing in the competition for the first time in 2014.  He tied for 2nd in the 2014 Oregon Mid-Amateur and won the 2013 Oregon Stroke Play in the Master-40 Division.  Ward is making his PNGA Cup debut after a win at the 2014 PNGA Mid-Amateur.  He also tied for 7th in the 2014 Oregon Men’s Stroke Play Championship.

A couple of PNGA Cup veterans, Randy Mahar and Patrick O’Donnell, are representing Oregon in the Men’s Senior Division.  Mahar is returning for his third PNGA Cup.  He was a 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur Sectional Qualifier and also has 2013 Oregon Senior Stroke Play, 2013 Oregon Mid-Amateur, and 2013 Oregon Senior Stroke Play titles to his credit.  O’Donnell is making his 7th straight appearance in the PNGA Cup and owns an astonishing career Cup record of 13-0-2.  He won the 2014 Oregon Senior Amateur and was the runner-up of the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur.  In 2012 he won the Oregon Senior Stroke Play Championship and reached the quarterfinals in the US. Senior Amateur.

In the Oregon Mid-Am Women’s Division are Brie Stone and Rosie Cook.   Stone is playing on her 4th Oregon PNGA Cup Team after winning her fourth consecutive Oregon Mid-Amateur in 2014.  She also tied for 4th at the 2014 Oregon Women’s Stroke Play Championship.  Furthermore, Stone earned the OGA Golfer of the Year and Women’s Performance Points Leader awards in 2012 after winning the Oregon Women’s Stroke Play Championship and Tournament of Champions titles in that year.  Cook is returning to the PNGA Cup after playing for her first time on Team Oregon in 2013.  In 2014, she reached the quarterfinal of the Oregon Women’s Amateur and tied for 2nd in the OGA Tournament of Champions.  She also recorded top-5 finishes in the Oregon Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2011 and 2012.

Representing Oregon in the Senior Women’s Division are Leilani Norman and Anita Wicks. Norman is back for her second straight PNGA Cup appearance.  She won the 2013 Oregon Senior Women’s Amateur as well as the 2012 Oregon Women’s Super-Senior Championship. Wicks is also a second year PNGA Cup player, making her debut with the team in 2014.  She won the 2014 Oregon Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship and was the runner-up in the 2014 Oregon Senior Amateur Championship.  She also won the Oregon Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship in 2013.

To follow along with live scoring, visit www.thepnga.org.

British Columbia Golf will be attempting to win its 3rd consecutive PNGA Cup after holding off a late rally by the Oregon Golf Association to win by half a point in last year’s contest, which was held at The Home Course in DuPont, WA.  British Columbia also won the PNGA Cup in 2009.  The Oregon Golf Association has won 5 of the 9 PNGA Cups, with the association’s last victory coming in 2012 at Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria, B.C. 

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.