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A junior cavalcade of stars
By E.J. Clair, Junior Editor
True to all sports, spring brings a wonderful combination of promise and questions.
In baseball, the questions are many. Who will bat .300? Is there a rookie who might make the starting lineup?
In golf, the promises of spring, all fresh and new, deliver an equal playing field of opportunity, and, of course, more questions.
Who will hit the crispest 4-iron? Who will sink a 40-footer, or who will have the lowest round?
Did the wonderful combination of promise and questions of spring hold through the summer and into the fall of 2004? Absolutely! Our
Pacific Northwest teams played well and our WJGA, IJGA, OGA and Junior Golf alums won more tournaments than ever.
This year, we watched Ryan Moore (Puyallup, Wash.) build on his successful University of Nevada-Las Vegas career by winning the
U.S. Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links, NCAA Championship, the Sahalee Players Championship and the Western Amateur.
Michael Putnam (Tacoma, Wash.) earned the title of MVP while driving the USA Team to win the Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate
Golf Championships in July, then returned to take home the trophy at the Pacific Coast Amateur in Oregon.
Some of the most promising juniors in the region were in British Columbia, led by 16-year-old Rafael Lee (Burnaby, B.C.). Not only
did he win the Canadian Juniors title, but also the British Columbia Juveniles and was No. 1 on the Canadian Junior Order of Merit.
While Lee had the most consistent summer of B.C. juniors, 15-year-old Darren Wallace (Langley, B.C.) was truly amazing for the week of
the Canadian Amateur, becoming its youngest champion ever.
The University of Washington women's golf team, powered by career-best scores from Paige Mackenzie (Yakima, Wash.), and strong playing
by Kim Shin (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) and Courtney McCracken (Eagle, Idaho) is ranked third in the country.
Katja Trygg (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), Katie Bender (Tacoma, Wash.), and Kate Menlove (Bellevue, Wash.) led their Western Washington
team to victories at the Grand Canyon, the St. Mary's and the Viking Invitational tournaments.
Oregon State won the Northwest Collegiate Classic with Beavers' Jonathan Green (Sisters, Ore.) shooting a record 208 and Vincent Johnson
(Portland, Ore.) tying for fourth with 211 strokes.
Oregon's Eric Hastings (Spokane, Wash.) and Justin St. Clair (Springfield, Ore.) showed their talent this season. Kyle Johnson (North
Bend, Ore.) and Matt Ma (Aiea, Hawaii) represented the team at The Prestige at PGA West. During the summer, Hastings qualified for
the U.S. Amateur. Oregon's Erin Andrews (Las Vegas, Nev.) qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Golfweek magazine's player of the week and Washington State superstar Anastasia Kostina (Russia) won the Stanford Women's Intercollegiate.
At the Edean Ihlanfeldt in October, teammate Stephanie Parsley (Chelan, Wash.) tied a career-low of 74. Cougar men Jordan Madison
(Pasco, Wash.) and David Fern (Spokane, Wash.) scored in the top 10 at the 28th annual Wolf Pack Classic and Ben Bryson (Winnemucca,
Nev.) claimed his first individual collegiate title at 9-under for the 54-hole Bronco Round-up.
University of Washington's James Lepp (Abbotsford, B.C.) lifted his Canadian team to fourth place at the World Amateur Team
Championship.
Former Huskies Brock Mackenzie (Yakima, Wash.) and John Robertson (Olympia, Wash.) advanced to the second stage of the PGA Tour
qualifying school.
In the Northwest, our sport grows stronger every year. This holiday season, we thank the volunteers in the Pacific Northwest who foster
the true spirit, character, and challenge of golf. With your help we have wonderful young players who respect this game of honor and
integrity. To get a glimpse of the future, visit www.thepnga.org, select Championships and click on Junior Girls and on Junior Boys.
Their games are impressive.
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