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Although
its present history dates only from 1967, the Pacific Coast Amateur
Championship’s roots make it one of the oldest amateur golf
championships in American history.
On
April 6, 1901
,
the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “after many setbacks, the
Pacific Coast Golf Association has at last been formed, and before
the end of the present month the coast will possess a bona-fide golf
champion.
“One of the first steps,” the article continued, “was the
formation of the Northern California Golf Association, on the lines
similar to the Southern California Golf Association, which has been
holding tournaments for several seasons.” The article went on to
say, “These two associations being organized, the next step was to
unite and form the big association, whose range it was intended
shall be the entire Pacific Slope.”
The first tournament was held on the links of the San Francisco Golf
Club at The Presidio,
April
24-27, 1901
.
Championships were held annually through 1911, all being conducted
in California except for the 1909 championship, which was held at
Seattle Golf Club in Washington.
The Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be
reconstituted at the Seattle Golf Club on
August
10-12, 1967
.
The modern era of the PCGA occurred following a meeting of
representatives of several golf associations throughout the western
United
States
at
Pebble
Beach
in November, 1965.
The objective of this meeting was to start a golf championship with
the stature that would attract the attention of the USGA and display
the ability of amateur golfers in the western
United
States
for possible Walker Cup Team selection.
Dr. Ed Updegraff from
Tucson
,
Arizona
,
was the only western player who had recently participated (1963 and
1965) in the Walker Cup matches.
The
Pacific
Northwest
,
Northern
California
,
Southern
California
,
Oregon
and Arizona Golf Associations participated in the inaugural
Championship at Seattle Golf Club in 1967. Today, 18 member
Pacific Rim
golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association.
The Morse Cup Team competition has been a major portion of the PCGA
Championship since 1967. Each
team consists of three players. From 1967 to 1996, the best two
scores each day for the first two rounds were totaled for each team
to determine the Morse Cup Champion. In the event of a tie,
co-champions were recognized. However, the team play ended after 36
holes.
A significant change in the Championship format occurred in 1997.
This change made it possible for golf associations throughout the
international golf scene to become a part of this storied event.
When the 31st annual competition began on
July 29, 1997
,
at Makena Resort’s South Course in
Maui
,
Hawaii
,
the emphasis was on team play and scores were counted from all four
rounds. This format change opened the door to include teams of three
players representing other national and regional associations, as
well as member associations of the PCGA.
In 2002, Trustees of the PCGA voted to return to the tournament’s
original format, a moved spurred in large part by the fact that the
USGA does not recognize results from team competitions in making
selections for Walker Cup squads.
The Pacific Coast Amateur is now an individual competition
with all competitors playing 72 holes without a cut being made. The
Morse Cup competition continues to be held in conjunction with the
Championship, but only PCGA member associations are allowed to have
teams.
Among the prominent individual champions are many who have played on
Walker Cup teams: Dr. Ed Updegraff, Mike Brannan, Ron Commans, Mark
Pfeil, Lindy Miller, John Fought, Mike Gove, Billy Mayfair, David
Berganio, Jr., Todd Demsey, Randy Sonnier and Jason Gore.
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