Highsmith, Slama headline 2019 PNGA Players of the Year

The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) has announced the 2019 Players of the Year for the region. Those honored include Men’s Player of the Year, Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash.; Women’s, Ellie Slama of Salem, Ore.; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Gretchen Johnson of Portland, Ore.; Senior Men’s, Pat O’Donnell of Happy Valley, Ore.; Senior Women’s, Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore.; Junior Boys’, Ian Siebers of Bellevue, Wash.; and Junior Girls’, Gihoe Seo of Mercer Island, Wash.

• Joe Highsmith, Men’s Player of the Year (WA GOLF): Highsmith, a sophomore at Pepperdine University who last spring was named WCC Freshman of the Year, had top-10 finishes at the NCAA D-I Regional and Sunnehanna Amateur, and top-25 finishes at the Northeast Amateur, Western Amateur and NCAA D-I National Championship. 

• Ellie Slama, Women’s Player of the Year (OGA): Now a junior on the Oregon State University women’s golf team, Slama finished last spring by setting the school’s single-season scoring record, and was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team. She finished eighth in the Pac-12 Championship, and 11th at the NCAA Regional. This summer she won the Oregon Amateur, successfully defending her title. 

• Reid Hatley, Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year (WA GOLF)… Hatley was named the Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. 

• Gretchen Johnson, Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year (OGA): Johnson made a mark on the regional and national scene in 2019. 

• Pat O’Donnell, Senior Men’s Player of the Year (OGA): O’Donnell dominated the region’s senior competition in 2019. He won the Oregon Senior Men’s Amateur, Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur, Pacific Northwest Senior Players’ Championship, and the OGA Tournament of Champions. 

• Lara Tennant, Senior Women’s Player of the Year (OGA): Tennant won national titles on two continents in 2019. She accomplished the rare feat of successfully defending her title in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, winning for the second year in a row. 

• Ian Siebers, Junior Boys’ Player of the Year (WA GOLF): This is the second year in a row that Siebers has been named Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. He won the individual title in the 2019 Junior America’s Cup, and was selected to play on the U.S. team in the Junior Presidents Cup. 

• Gihoe Seo, Junior Girls’ Player of the Year (WA GOLF): Seo won four titles this season, the Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur, WJGA Players Open, WJGA District 2 Championship, and the WJGA Tournament of Champions.