Players of the Year

The Georgia State Golf Association selects annual Players of the Year in the following categories: Men, Women, Junior, Girls, Senior Men, Super Senior Men and Senior Women. Players of the Year are determined by a point system based on participation and finish in GSGA and USGA events throughout the year.

The Georgia State Golf Association's Tommy Barnes Award signifies the GSGA's overall player of the year. It was established in 1998 and named after legendary amateur Tommy Barnes of Atlanta. Among his many accomplishments, Barnes won the 1941 Georgia Amateur Championship and qualified for 16 consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships. The Tommy Barnes Award winner is selected each year by the GSGA's Championship Committee.

PLAYERS OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

GSGA Men's Player of the Year

Ben Carr of Columbus became the first collegiate player to capture the GSGA Men's Player of the Year honor since Dru Love of Sea Island in 2015. Carr had a memorable run over the summer at the U.S. Amateur Championship finishing runner-up earning a spot in the 2023 U.S. Open and a likely invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament. This is the second GSGA Player of the Year honor for Carr after taking home the 2019 GSGA Junior Boys' Player of the Year.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Women's Player of the Year

Sara Im of Duluth had a stellar 2022 which began with a national championship winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Puerto Rico with Thienna Huynh of Lilburn. Im qualified for the 2022 U.S. Women's Open, advanced to the Rd. of 32 of the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship and captured the GSGA Top 60 Women's Classic in May. Im became the first junior to win the award since Janet Mao of Johns Creek in 2015.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Junior Boys' Player of the Year

William Love of Atlanta added his name to the long list of prestigious champions of the Georgia Amateur Championship after taking home the Robert H. Martin Trophy at The Landings Club in Savannah on the Deer Creek Course. Love finished at 8-under-par for the week to win the 101st playing by two strokes. His strong summer continued with a Rd. of 16 appearance at the U.S. Junior Championship. Love also finished tied for second at the Georgia Four-Ball Championship with his partner Price Miller of Atlanta.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Junior Girls' Player of the Year

Sara Im of Duluth also took home her first GSGA Junior Girls' Player of the Year honor thanks to her strong year detailed above. To go with her other accomplishments, Im also made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. She is the first player since Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville in 2013 to win both the GSGA Women's and Junior Girls' Player of the Year honors in the same season.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year

Doug Hanzel of Savannah already held the distinction of holding the most GSGA Senior Men's Player of the Year honors with five and added a sixth thanks to a very consistent 2022 season, which featured multiple wins and a close call for his second national championship. Hanzel fell just short of his second U.S. Senior Amateur Championship crown finishing runner-up in September. But a couple weeks later Hanzel took home his fourth Georgia Senior Championship and added a fourth-straight Georgia Four-Ball Championship with his partner Bob Royak of Alpharetta in November. Hanzel also finished third at the Georgia Senior Open and T-22 at the Georgia Amateur Championship.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year

Laura Coble of Augusta captured her fourth GSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year honor (2016-2017, 2021) thanks to a strong year where she won her record-tying 7th Georgia Senior Women's Championship and advancing to the U.S. Senior Women's Open. Coble finished T-40 at the Georgia Women's Amateur Championship, and she and her partner Margaret Starosto of Woodstock finished 12th in the inaugural Georgia Women's Four-Ball Championship.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS

GSGA Super Senior Men's Player of the Year

Doug Hanzel of Savannah joined Sara Im of Duluth as the two players who captured multiple GSGA Player of the Year honors in 2022. Hanzel became the first player to win both the GSGA Senior and Super Senior Player of the Year awards in the same season.

2022 POINTS TABLE

PAST WINNERS