7/21/2026

The 59th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is being held this week, July 21-24. at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, Calif.

Hosted by the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA), the championship will feature many of the world’s top amateur golfers. This year marks the first time Poppy Ridge – itself owned and operated by the NCGA – will host the Pacific Coast Amateur. Its sister course, Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach, previously hosted the championship in 1996.

All the coverage created by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s media crew is shared on the ESN platform. The PNGA Media crew do a tremendous job of staying on top of all the on and off pertinent details and news of the tournament.

This hub for the P-C Amatuer will be updated as the stories become available with the most recent added to the top of the post. You can scroll down to see all the coverage located on this single Hub.

Championship Links:

• Championship Portal
• Pairings
• Player Roster

Aidan Lee assumes control as strong winds shuffle 59th Pacific Coast Amateur leaderboard

Post #3

Livermore, Calif. – Aidan Lee (Pasadena, Calif.) shot a 5-under par second round of 65 and leads the 59th Pacific Coast Amateur at 8-under. The championship is being held this week, July 21-24, at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, Calif. 

Unlike the first round, during which five players shot 63, the second round played more difficult. Strong winds neutralized much of the low scoring, and each of the five now-former leaders shot over-par rounds. 

Lee recently completed his senior season at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. Entering the second day four back of the lead following an opening 67, he delivered another perfectly solid round of golf. Today’s 65 was slightly gritty, with bogeys on holes 5 and 10, but he carded five additional birdies and eagled the par-5 18th to post the 8-under total that would hold at the top as the day continued. That closing eagle was his second such score of the week; the other came on the par-5 first hole yesterday. 

Lee sits a single stroke ahead of Mitchell Hoey (Alamo, Calif.), who also enjoyed a relatively clean second round. He bogeyed the par-3 third hole but erased it with a sixth-hole birdie. Going out even for his round, Lee gained momentum on the back side with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 17th holes; 14 has played as the most difficult hole this week. 

Like Lee, Hoey recently graduated from Saint Mary’s in 2026. Hoey recorded five top 25 finishes for the Gaels during his final season. 

Defending champion Jaden Dumdumaya was among Tuesday’s 63-shooters to lose ground Wednesday — though not severely — by carding a 1-over 71. He had reached 9-under par for the tournament by the time he teed off the 16th hole, but a lost ball on that hole led to a triple bogey. At 6-under, Dumdumaya is one of seven players two strokes behind Lee. 

In the Morse Cup Competition, the hosting Northern California Golf Association posted an 11-under total to win the competition, mounting somewhat of a comeback in the process. Team NCGA was six strokes behind that of the Colorado Golf Association after Round 1, but a net 4-over total from the CGA contingent allowed others to close.  

The Morse Cup team competition takes place during the first two days of the championship. Each of the 16 member Pacific Rim golf associations selects three players to represent them in this team competition, and the two top scores from each team in the first and second rounds will count toward the Morse Cup. This year, Dumdumaya, Kailer Stone and Joshua Kim comprised the winning NCGA team, the 17th that association has fielded. It tied for the distinction with the Southern California Golf Association in 1994. 

The Morse Cup team trophy was donated by Samuel F. B. Morse, founder and developer of Pebble Beach Company and Pebble Beach Golf Links. 

Other Notables: 

• Brandon Knight (Pleasanton, Calif., -6) and Mason An (Houston, Texas, -5) were among the biggest movers of round 2, gaining 38 and 55 leaderboard positions respectively. Knight’s 65 got him to the seven-way tie for third, while An is now tied for 10th after carding a 64, the lowest of the day. 
• Jacob Goode (San Francisco, Calif.) carded a bogey-free 67 and is also one of the seven tied for third. Playing in the first group (7:30), he took advantage of less windy conditions. 
• Like on Tuesday, the two long par-3’s, holes 5 and 14, played as the hardest two holes. Holes 1 and 18, par-5’s, played the easiest. 

Five players tied for Pacific Coast Amateur lead with record rounds

Post #2

Livermore, Calif. – Colin Prater (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Jaden Dumdumaya (Benecia, Calif), Thayer Plewe (Cortez, Colo.), Matthew Robles (Downey, Calif.) and Sihao Cong (Temecula, Calif.) all shot course-record rounds of 63 and collectively lead the 59th Pacific Coast Amateur following the first round. The championship is being held this week, July 21-24, at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, Calif. 

Prater, 31, has long been a consistent and well-known presence in Amateur Golf. No. 295 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), he is a science teacher at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs and garnered widespread attention when he qualified for the U.S. Open in 2024. 

Taking on Poppy Ridge today, Prater didn’t land himself in much trouble. He birdied the par-4 second and fourth holes, before holing out from a bunker on the seventh for an eagle. Making the turn in 30, Prater’s back nine wasn’t quite as explosive, but he still managed two more birdies to complete a bogey-free round of 63. 

“We got lucky, going out kind of early, the wind was down,” he said after his round, which began at 8:10 a.m.  

Continued Prater, on his attitude in this championship, “I’m older than all these young college studs, so I’m just trying to execute one shot at a time.” 

Dumdumaya is the defending PAC Coast champion and played up to the part with a bogey-free Tuesday. He birdied half of his opening 12 holes and gained one more shot with a birdie on the par-5 18th. 

Dumdumaya is a rising junior at the University of Southern California (USC). He is ranked 87th in WAGR, higher than any other player in this field.

Plewe, too, did not register a bogey, and his seven birdies came on holes 1, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16 and 18. Going out in 32 and coming in in 31, he demonstrated a fine understanding of Poppy Ridge’s layout and is a contender. Plewe is a rising sophomore at the University of New Mexico, where he was named was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year during the 2025-26 season. 

Robles, like Prater, shot 30 on the front side. The only of the five leaders to bogey a hole, Robles did so on the long par-4 13th, but birdies on 16 and 18 erased any damage. He is a rising junior at the University of Santa Clara, after two All-WCC selection seasons. 

Cong could not make it to Livermore for a Monday practice round, but that didn’t stop him from carding an eagle on his opening hole. Building from there, he found himself out in 31 and eventually 6-under by the time reached the 15th tee. He birdied that hole and parred the rest to submit a clean scorecard of his own. 

“It was only my second time ever seeing this course,” Cong told AmateurGolf.com after his round. “My team played a practice round here once, but other than that, nothing.” 

Cong is a member of the University of California, Berkely (Cal) golf team and completed his redshirt sophomore season in 2025-26. 

In the Morse Cup Competition, the Colorado Golf Association, with the help of Prater and Plewe, have the solo lead at 14-under par. The Southern California Golf Association is second, one shot behind at 13-under. 

The Morse Cup team competition takes place during the first two days of the championship. Each of the 16 member Pacific Rim golf associations selects three players to represent them in this team competition, and the two top scores from each team in the first and second rounds will count toward the Morse Cup. 

Other Notables: 

• Matthew Diehl (Redlands, Calif.) is in solo sixth, one shot behind the five leaders. A rising junior at Grand Canyon University, he qualified for the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club and will play the 2026 championship at Merion Golf Club. 
• Collin Hodgkinson (Beaverton, Ore.), Alex Papayoanou (The Woodlands, Texas) and Ty Holbrook (Boulder, Colo.) are tied for seventh at 5-under par. Papayoanou’s round included two eagles, including one on the par-4 ninth hole. 
• Two hole-in-ones were recorded in round one, both on hole 8, a 185-yard par-3. The first came from Benjamin Albin (Santa Fe, N.M.) , and Stanley Lin later matched the feat. 
• The two long par-3’s, holes 5 and 14, played as the hardest two holes. Holes 1 and 18 — both par-5’s — played the easiest. 

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The 59th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship Preview

Post #1

Livermore, Calif. – What is now Poppy Ridge originally opened in 1996 as a 27-hole facility with three 9-hole layouts. In May 2025, a 13-month total redesign and rebuilding of the course was completed, under the design of Jay Blasi, who had worked right beside Robert Trent Jones II to design Chambers Bay in Washington, which itself has hosted the Pacific Coast Amateur on three occasions (2017, 2021, 2024).

The new Poppy Ridge course offers playability, variety, and flexibility throughout its wide, undulating fairways, making it a prime location to host the top amateur golfers of the world. It also makes use of new Santa Ana Bermuda fairways and Prestige Bentgrass putting greens, combining to form an exceptional, water-efficient playing surface any golfer is meant to enjoy.

The Pacific Coast Amateur is one of seven events 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. Top finishers earn exemptions into USGA Championships, PGA TOUR events, and Korn Ferry Tour events.

Recent Pac Coast champions include Jaden Dumdumaya (2025), Chaz Aurilia (2024), Tyson Shelley (2023), James Leow (2022), Devon Bling (2021), Quade Cummins (2019), Isaiah Salinda (2018) and Doug Ghim (2017). Other past champions who went on to have success on the PGA TOUR include Will Zalatoris, Aaron Wise, Andrew Putnam, Jason Gore, and Billy Mayfair, among others.

The championship remains the West Coast’s elite-level amateur event that is highly regarded around the world. This year’s field includes players from seven countries.

Notable players in this year’s elite field include:

• Jaden Dumdumaya of Benecia, Calif. – No. 87 in World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Won 2025 Pacific Coast Amateur at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. Rising junior at University of Southern California (USC) and placed third in 2026 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championships.
• Joshua Kim of Danville, Calif. – No. 143 in WAGR. Won 2026 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship. Rising sophomore at UCLA. Named to All-Big Ten First Team during 2025-26 season and was Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2025-26).
• Ryan Abuan of Temecula, Calif – WAGR No. 308. Placed fourth in 2026 Southwestern Invitational. Won The Prestige tournament in 2025.
• Collin Hodgkinson of Beaverton, Ore. – WAGR No. 587 with three contributing wins. Placed fourth in 2026 Washington Men’s Amateur and 2026 Royal Oaks Invitational. Won 2025 Washington Men’s Amateur.
• Drew Woolworth of Lake Oswego, Ore. – Two WAGR wins, including in most recent AJGA start at 2026 Sacramento Junior Championship. Ranked No. 17 in Rolex AJGA Rankings. Incoming freshman at University of Georgia.
• Drake Harvey of Las Vegas, Nevada – No. 14 in Rolex AJGA Rankings and 2025 Rolex AJGA All American. Two WAGR wins, most recently at 2026 Scott Robertson Memorial.
• Dylan Ma of China. – Runner-up at 2025 Pacific Coast Amateur. As member of UC Santa Barbara, 2026 All-Big West Honorable Mention Selection. Finished seventh at the 2026 Big West Championships.

Click here to view the full list of confirmed players.

Much of the recent success of the championship can be directly attributed to the quality of the venue, and 2026 will continue that tradition.

“The newly redesigned Poppy Ridge is an exceptional championship venue that will attract the world’s top amateurs and deliver a rigorous, fair test to determine the most deserving champion,” said Nate Schroeder executive director of the PCGA. “We are thrilled to bring the Pacific Coast Amateur to this outstanding venue for the first time.”

The Pacific Coast Amateur and NCGA share deep ties, and the 2026 championship will also mark a significant milestone.

“The Pacific Coast Am is the main reason the NCGA exists,” said Lance Parker, vice president of the NCGA Board of Directors. “In 1901, the NCGA was created specifically to send a team to the Pacific Coast Amateur. We are celebrating our 125th anniversary this year and will showcase the new and improved Poppy Ridge. Hosting some of the best amateur golfers in the nation is a true honor, and doing so on one of our two courses makes it even more special.”

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.

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