Williams, Lee headline Player of Year awards from PNGA

The Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) announced the 2011 Player of the Year recipients.  The winners include Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho in the Men’s category; Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash. received the Women’s award; Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. received the Senior Men’s award; Terri Frohnmayer of Salem, Ore. received the Senior Women’s award; Kevin Kwon of Pitt Meadows, BC received the Junior Boys’ award; and Jisoo Keel of Coquitlam, BC received the Junior Girls’ award.

• For Chris Williams, 2011 was a historic year that included national and international recognition.  In June, Williams earned U.S. Open qualifying medalist honors at Gold Mountain Golf Club.  His stellar play would lead to his selection to play for the U.S. Team at the Palmer Cup where his undefeated record helped the U.S. beat the European Team at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn.  Williams would also win a pair of major amateur championships with back to back victories at the 18th Sahalee Players Championship and the 45th Pacific Coast Amateur in July, and he would shoot a 16-under par, 268 to earn medalist honors at the 109th Western Amateur, where he ended up finishing as a quarterfinalist. 

• Erynne Lee, now 18 years old, has been awarded her second Women’s Player of the Year honor.  Lee’s accomplishments on the state and national level have been nothing short of incredible.  In June, Lee won the Washington State Women’s Amateur by defeating her little sister Katie Lee by two strokes with a 54-hole total of 3-under par, 213.  The most notable performance of Lee’s season came just weeks later at the U.S. Women’s Amateur at the Rhode Island Country Club where she would make the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. 

• Tom Brandes had an inspiring year winning his first Senior Men’s Player of the Year honor.  After qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open in each of the past two years, 2011 was a year of firsts for Brandes.  He started by winning the Senior Washington Open title at The Cedars at Dungeness.

• Terri Frohnmayer had a year to remember with an awe-inspiring victory at the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn.  Frohnmayer defeated defending champion, Mina Hardin of Fort Worth, Texas 2 and 1 in the final match for her first national title. 

• Kevin Kwon, an 11th grader at Maple Ridge Secondary in Maple Ridge, BC, blossomed in 2011 capturing the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship by 11 shots in conjunction with the Canadian Junior Boys’ Juvenile Championship title as well. 

• Jisoo Keel, a member of the Canadian National Developmental Team, had a memorable 2011 that included wins at the Canadian National Future Links Pacific Championship and the Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship, Juvenile Division.