Columbia Edgewater to host 2022 Pacific Coast Amateur
Tacoma, Wash. – The 55th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship will be held July 19-22, 2022 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore. This will be the first time Columbia Edgewater has hosted this prestigious championship, which is conducted by the Pacific Coast Golf Association (PCGA).
The Pacific Coast Amateur is one of seven premier amateur championships that make up the Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS), in which players earn World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points and compete for the Elite Amateur Cup, with top finishers earning exemptions into USGA Championships, as well as PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events.
“In 12 years as a PCGA director, I have witnessed the increasing quality of championship venues,” said Cliff Shahbaz, president of both the PCGA and Columbia Edgewater Country Club. “I am proud that my club, Columbia Edgewater, continues that trend. We are honored to host this championship in the inaugural year of the Elite Amateur Golf Series.”
The Pacific Coast Amateur remains the West Coast’s elite-level event that is circled on all amateur golf calendars in North America. The championship has regularly received an “A” strength ranking by WAGR, as provided by The R&A and USGA.
Other than 2021 champion Devon Bling, the last four Pacific Coast Amateur champions (Will Zalatoris in 2016, Doug Ghim in 2017, Isaiah Salinda in 2018, and Quade Cummins in 2019) were selected to play on the U.S. Walker Cup team. The 2021 Walker Cup was played in May, prior to the playing of the 2021 Pacific Coast Amateur. The Pacific Coast Amateur was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Columbia Edgewater Country Club is honored to showcase our championship golf course to the world’s best male amateur golfers this coming year,” said Bryan Tunstill, the club’s PGA director of golf. “Over the many years of this prestigious event, numerous Columbia Edgewater members have qualified and competed in this championship at some of the finest golf venues in the West. We’re excited that we have the chance to reciprocate the favor, and we look forward to the world-class competition that will be conducted.”
During its 97-year history, Columbia Edgewater has been the site of numerous championships and events. The Portland Open, a PGA Tour event, was held there in 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1966. The LPGA Tour’s long-running Safeway Classic was held at Columbia Edgewater from 1974-2008, and subsequently the tour’s Portland Classic was held there from 2013-2020. The Pacific Northwest Section PGA has held four of its majors at Columbia Edgewater, and the Oregon Amateur has been held there nine times, most recently in 2020.
Columbia Edgewater also hosted the 1974 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship (won by Nancy Lopez) and Final Qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Open.
“The rich history and reputation of Columbia Edgewater Country Club makes it an ideal venue for this championship,” said Troy Andrew, executive director of the Pacific Coast Golf Association, which conducts the annual championship. “The quality of our field and our ability to continuously recruit the game’s best amateurs is directly attributed to the quality of the venue selected to host. We are extremely grateful to the members of Columbia Edgewater for agreeing to host this championship.”
Past host sites for the championship include the premier venues in the western U.S. and Canada, such as The Olympic Club, Eugene Country Club, Seattle Golf Club, Capilano Golf and Country Club, Bandon Dunes and Chambers Bay, to name a few.
The Pacific Northwest Golf Association will serve as the 2022 championship’s host association.
About Columbia Edgewater Country Club
Opened in July 1925 along the banks of the Columbia River that separates the states of Oregon and Washington, Columbia Edgewater Country Club was designed by Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame architect Arthur Vernon Macan, who designed many of the Northwest’s premier courses. More information about the club can be found at CECC.com.
About the Pacific Coast Golf Association
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in North America. The first tournament was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio in 1901. After being played until 1911, the Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club in 1967. Today, 15 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association which conducts the annual championship, and which is housed in the office of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association in Tacoma, Wash.
About the Elite Amateur Golf Series
To be launched in 2022, the Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS) is the aligning of seven premier amateur championships. These are the Sunnehanna Amateur, Northeast Amateur, North & South Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Southern Amateur, Pacific Coast Amateur and Western Amateur. The EAGS will provide a cumulative points race, of WAGR points earned by competing in the seven EAGS events, toward the awarding of the Elite Amateur Cup, the winner of which is the player with the most points at the end of the series. Top finishers in the series earn exemptions into USGA Championships, as well as PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events. Visit EliteAmateurGolfSeries.org for more information and a complete schedule of the 2022 championships.