Jaden Dumdumaya wins 59th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship
Livermore, Calif. – Jaden Dumdumaya (Benecia, Calif.) shot rounds of 63-71-65-69 to win the 59th Pacific Coast Amateur by two strokes, at a final total of 12-under par. The championship was held this week, July 21-24, at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, Calif.
With his win, Dumdumaya became the first player to win back-to-back Pacific Coast Amateur Championships since Billy Mayfair did so in 1987-88. Dumdumaya, Mayfair and Mike Davis (1969-70) are the only three players to ever win two straight PAC Coast titles.
Conditions during the final round were fairly neutral, with intense sun and moderate wind that allowed for moderately low scoring.
Championship Links:
Dumdumaya entered the final round with a three-shot lead, courtesy of his third round of 65. The player, affectionately nicknamed “Lil’ Dragon,” wasted no time in lowering his 11-under total, carding birdies on his first two holes. A bogey came on the fifth, but Dumdumaya maintained control enough after that to make the turn in 33, 2-under for the day.
The most action of Dumdumaya’s round came in the two-hole stretch of 12 and 13. On the former – a par 4 – he nearly holed his second shot for eagle, but his yellow Titleist ball only just lipped out of the cup, and he took his fourth birdie of the day instead. Dumdumaya subsequently double bogeyed the long par-4 13th and emerged from that two-hole stretch at 12-under for his championship.
Meanwhile, Ryan Abuan had made a charge and posted the clubhouse lead at 9-under, thanks to a final round 63. As well, two groups ahead, Deitrek Gill was making a charge of his own and eventually posted a 10-under total.
After the double bogey, Dumdumaya played the ensuing holes carefully and conservatively, and began making a string of pars. On the 16th – the hole he triple bogeyed in round 2 – Dumdumaya found a steep-faced greenside bunker with his second shot, but successfully got the ball up and down for a clutch par.
He made another par on 17 and arrived at the 18th hole with a two-shot lead. He decidedly chose not to aggressively reach the green of the closing, par-5, hole, and a third-shot approach and two putts was all he needed to seal his second straight title. Walking off the green in victory, Jaden was embraced by his mother and grandparents, who had spectated all four of his rounds throughout the week.
“This tournament means a lot to me,” Dumdumaya said after the round. “It came down to the last few holes, and I was fighting at the end, but I was glad to be able to close it out.”
Last year, Dumdumaya had his father caddying for him, and this year, his looper was his brother for three days. Jaden’s best friend, Mario, was on the bag during round 3. All that considered, Jaden said he’s come to know the PAC Coast Am as a “family affair.”
“Poppy Ridge is a special place to me,” he said, having grown up in the nearby city of Benecia. “I grew up playing golf out here…if I had to choose my place to win back-to-back, it’d be here.”
In 2025, Jaden won ranked as the No. 1000 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). This year, he is the champion as WAGR No. 75, having blossomed into one of the world’s best. He is a rising junior at the Univerisity of Southern California (USC).
“In the last year my game has changed tremendously,” he said. “My confidence has definitely risen a lot and I’ve seen a lot of good results.”
Other Notables:
- Deitrek Gill (Wellington, Kansas) finished solo second, two shots behind. His ascent of the leaderboard was due in large part to a bogey-free final round of 66, his second straight.
- Ryan Abuan (Temecula, Calif.) made a furious charge by carding a final-round 63. Starting the day nine shots back of the lead at 2-under, Abuan gained 23 positions en route to T3.
- Davis McDowell (San Rafael, Calif.) tied with Abuan in third place. He ended as one of this year’s most consistent players, recording only two bogeys against nine birdies in his final two rounds of 66 and 67.
About Poppy Ridge
Located in Livermore, Calif., Poppy Ridge Golf Course is one of two golf courses owned and operated by the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA), the other being Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif. The course officially reopened on May 31, 2025, after a 13-month construction and grow-in process, where an 18-hole golf course has been created with completely new routing and state-of-the-art infrastructure. The new championship-caliber venue hosted a multitude of NCGA championships in 2025 and is set for nine more in 2026. A newly renovated practice facility and short game area are complemented by an executive nine-hole course, appropriately named “The Ridge 9.”
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. For more information visit, pacificcoastamateur.com.
About the Elite Amateur Golf Series
Launched in 2022 to challenge the best of the best in amateur golf, the Elite Amateur Golf Series brings together the top amateur championships in a collective series of competitions, the Elite Amateur Cup. In addition to hosting the best players, Elite Amateur Cup events are contested at the best sites and have the longest history of successful champions. The Elite Amateur Golf Series maintains a proven track record that prepares elite players for the toughest competitive tests, making the championships the majors of amateur golf. Visit eliteamateurgolfseries.org for more information.