Team Oregon with the PNGA Cup (OGA photo)

This is the seventh title for Team OGA in the 13-year history of the matches, which is a Ryder Cup-style competition featuring the finest 48 amateur golfers among the four allied golf associations under the Pacific Northwest Golf Association – the Idaho Golf Association, Oregon Golf Association, Washington State Golf Association, and British Columbia Golf.

Team OGA began the day with 9.5 points, a 2.5 lead over Team BC Golf, its nearest competitor. Yesterday’s competition included morning Four-Ball matches followed by afternoon Foursomes matches. In today’s Singles matches, there were 24 points up for grabs, and Team OGA did not waste any time coming out of the gate, winning four of the first eight matches to put enormous pressure on the other three teams in the remaining matches. They finished with a total of 18 points.

Finishing second was Team BC Golf with 12 points, while Team IGA finished third with 10.5 points, and Team WSGA finished with 7.5 points.

Team IGA had won last year’s PNGA Cup, held on its home territory of TimberStone Golf Course in Caldwell, Idaho. They had an impressive eight points in today’s Singles matches in an attempt to defend their title, but could not gain ground on Team OGA.

“It’s easy to pick the players,” said Denny Taylor, captain of Team OGA, when asked how he came up with the line-up for today’s Singles matches. “Yesterday all the captains met and we went round the table, so I know who’s been picked for a certain match, and I then just picked who I thought would be a good match-up.”

Taylor is a past president of the Oregon Golf Association. Current association presidents serve as captains of their respective teams, but the current OGA president, Jeff Allen, couldn’t make it to the matches, so Taylor stepped in.

“And if it’s my turn to pick a player first, I just pick my remaining primary player for that particular match,” he said. “From a strategic standpoint, I prefer to have the associations pick their players first, and then I can pick what I think is a good match-up for that player, depending on how everyone’s playing at the moment.

“I didn’t see any surprises in today’s matches, but what really pleased me was that we down early in a few matches and the players really boot-strapped it and got themselves back in it. Nobody felt defeated in their entire match.”

Taylor said this week was special for him personally because he was a playing co-captain in the inaugural PNGA Cup in 2006, also held that year at Seattle Golf Club. “I didn’t swing a club this week, but it was great to be part of a great group of players.”