Tournament History

Joan "Jo-Ann" Teats had a mission in 1977. She saw a need to support young players in competitive golfing event in the state of Washington, and thus began the Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA). In 1987, this vision expanded by adding the NPJL matches, a competitive match play format event for young ladies. Joan Teats of Washington (WJGA founder) and Joan Green of the Canadian Ladies Golf Association, the BC branch were co-creators of the NPJL matches.

The first year of the North Pacific Junior Ladies Team Matches, Washington competed against British Columbia. Jo-Ann and Joan developed these matches with the idea of encouraging girls to play and have fun. Six top players comprise each team based on points accumulated the previous year. Matches were conducted in the same style as the Ryder Cup and Curtis Cup.

Nearly four decades later, the charter associations gathered and a decision was made to “elevate” this tournament by changing the format to stroke play, taking the low 5 out of 6 scores for two days, and making it a team event with individual honors. The first association to host under this new format will be Oregon at Emerald Valley Golf & Resort in 2024.