Roy Kang Reaches Final Of PNGA Junior Boys Amateur In Oregon
by Alfie Lau
Roy Kang of North Vancouver and the Seymour Golf Club will meet Joshua Gliege of Eagle, ID will meet in Friday morning’s final match at the 61st Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur, which is being held at Wildhorse Resort in Pendleton, OR.
The championship is being conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).
Kang defeated Brody Bonfilio of Boise, ID 2-up in a morning quarterfinal match, and then in the afternoon’s semifinal match he defeated defending champion Sam Warkentin of Bainbridge Island, WA, 2 and 1.
Warkentin took a 2-up lead over Kang, but the plucky Seymour member came back, and closed out the match, and the upset, on the par-4 17th hole with a birdie. “I’ve been working hard on my game this summer back home, but have still been struggling,” Kang said. “So a win tomorrow would make everything different.”
Gliege, who has committed to play next year at Texas A&M, breezed through his bracket, winning his previous three matches by margins of 7 & 5, 6 & 5, and 6 & 4. “I’ve never played a 36-hole match,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It will be exciting. It’s a lot of golf to play, and it’s been a long week that really does take the best player to win, so it would be awesome to win.”
Both players will be looking to add their name to the rich history of the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship, which includes past champions such as World Golf Hall of Fame member Fred Couples, Web.com Tour players Alex Prugh and Andrew Yun, and John Bodenhamer, the former CEO and executive director of the PNGA who now is a senior director at the USGA.
Wildhorse Resort is located in northern Oregon in the city of Pendleton. The course was host to the 2012 PNGA Men’s Master-40 Championship and is hosting the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur for the first time.