Scott Harvey at the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur
(USGA Photo)
SOUTHERN PINES, NC (January 3, 2017) -- On
Tuesday
the Carolina Golf Association announced its 2016
Players of the Year and it is impressive group of
players.
The The Richard S. Tufts Awards were created in
1997
to honor Carolinas amateur golfers who had
exceptional
individual tournament performances over the
preceding
year. Tufts served on the CGA Executive Committee
from 1926 to 1964 and served as President from
1931
through 1933. The awards are given to the number
one
golfer based on the CGA amateur rankings at the
end of
the calendar year in each of six categories: Men,
Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Junior Boys and
Junior Girls.
MEN
Scott Harvey of Greensboro, N.C.,
claims his sixth
consecutive Carolinas Men's Player of the Year
award, a
CGA record. "There are so many great players in
North
and South Carolina, and I am extremely honored to
have won this," said Harvey, a 38-year-old property
manager. "To think that this is my sixth year in a
row is
honestly mind blowing. I had a hard time seeing
myself
winning one, but six is so far out of the realm of
what I
had ever dreamed of its honestly hard to put into
words."
Harvey has climbed the rankings to currently
hold
the designation as the top-ranked mid-amateur (age
25+) in the world. After a 2015 season where he
played
in The Masters and competed in the Walker Cup,
setting
new goals for 2016 proved a little difficult. "After
some
time of trying to find some direction it kind of just hit
me, I love the game," said Harvey who is listed No.
60
in the overall Men's World Amateur Golf Rankings. "I
love the competition and everything golf is all about.
It
doesn't matter how much I have or have not
accomplished, golf is something that I love and am
passionate about and nothing can ever change that."
"Golf is not something you just quit when you
reach
your goals, it's something that is much bigger and
deeper than that. So I took that mindset into the
2016
season." That mentality led to another great year on
the
golf course.
In CGA play, Harvey picked up his third
Carolinas
Mid-Amateur title. His biggest win of the season
came
at the George C. Thomas Invitational at Los Angeles
Country Club where he defeated Stewart Hagestad in
a
playoff. At the U.S. Mid-Amateur, Harvey earned
stroke
play medalist honors for a record fourth time then
nearly won his second U.S. Mid-Amateur title until a
late
rally by Hagestad . Other notable finishes for Harvey
included a third place finish at the Porter Cup, a
runner-
up finish at the Gasparilla Invitational and a trip to
match play at the U.S. Amateur.
Harvey was part of the three person contingent
representing North Carolina that finished in second in
the USGA Men’s State Team. A member of the 2015
Walker Cup team for the United States, Harvey was
invited to attend a Walker Cup practice session this
winter. The 2015 South American Amateur champion
and last year’s runner-up, Harvey has again been
selected as one the United States’ representatives
for
the event to be played in Argentina from January 19-
22.
WOMEN
Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose
Creek, S.C. captures
her first CGA Women’s Player of the Year award by
virtue of her excellent performance on the national
stage.
In her third year at the University of South
Carolina, Dambaugh set the program record for
single-
season stroke average (71.62) and totaled the most
top-five finishes (6) by a junior. She won the 2016
NCAA Baton Rouge Regional with a school record 207
(-9), finished T-11 at the NCAA Championship, and
earned First-Team All-America honors from the
Women’s Golf Coaches Association and Golfweek.
In the summer, Dambaugh earned runner-up honors
at
the North & South Women’s Amateur then advanced
to
the Round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Chosen
as one of three women to represent the United
States at
the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship,
Dambaugh’s final round 69 contributed to a sixth
place
team finish.
Dambaugh is currently listed at No. 8 in the
Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking.
SENIOR MEN
Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., an
iconic
golfer in the
Carolinas for over 25 years, wins his eighth Senior
Men’s Player of the Year award, a CGA record. To
earn
this honor for the first time since 2012, Simson
defended his titles at both the North Carolina Senior
Amateur and the Senior Men's North & South
Amateur.
Now with six North & South Senior wins, Simson
became the all-time winningest golfer at Pinehurst
Resort with eight total Putter Boy trophies.
Simson also claimed victory in the Durham
Senior
Amateur, advanced to the Round of 16 at the U.S.
Senior Amateur, and placed T-10 at the British
Senior
Amateur. He was selected to represent the United
States the Copa 70 Años in Columbia. At age 65,
Simson now has Super Senior status for CGA events.
Competing in his first North Carolina Super Senior,
Simson captured his 31st overall CGA championship
by
a ten stroke margin.
In his career, Simson has won over 200 titles,
two
U.S. Senior Amateurs (2010, '12) and claimed three
Seniors Amateur titles (2006, '08, '10), conducted by
The R&A. Simson is also a two-time CGA Men's
Player of
the Year winner (2005 & 2008).
SENIOR WOMEN
Kim Briele of New Bern, N.C., earns
her
first CGA
Senior Women’s Player of the Year honor, edging
four-
time winner Pat Brogden. Briele began her 2016
campaign by finishing T-6 while in search of a title
defense at the North Carolina Senior Women’s
Amateur.
Briele broke through at the Carolinas Senior
Women’s Championship, winning her second
individual
CGA title. “That particular event allowed me to
complete
a year of many highs and low’s culminating in the
most
satisfying finish I have ever experienced,” said
Briele.
“As a golfer, it is nice to accumulate points but
nothing
can replace a “W” in the win column. So just
knowing
that I could finish probably was the best rewarding
moment of 2016.”
Playing with Patty Moore, the duo claimed the
Senior Division at the Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball.
After finishing T-13 at the North & South Senior
Women’s Amateur, Briele qualified for the U.S.
Senior
Women’s Amateur.
JUNIOR BOYS
Trent Phillips of Inman, S.C., adds
Carolinas Junior
Boys’ Player of the Year to his list of
accomplishments.
In 2016 Phillips tallied an impressive list of wins
including the South Carolina Junior Amateur, the Joe
Cheves, the Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational, the
Cheraw Fall Challenge and Players Championship.
Before this past summer and fall, Phillips had helped
his
high school team to their third straight South
Carolina
AAAA championship. He already owned two
individual
state AAAA championships before this year.
Perhaps his most impressive victory of 2016
came
at the Palmetto Amateur, where the future Georgia
Bulldog became the youngest player to win the
nationally recognized amateur championship.
For the second consecutive year, Phillips was
recognized as the South Carolina Junior Golf
Association's Boys' Player of the Year.
JUNIOR GIRLS
Emily Hawkins of Lexington, NC became just the
third player in history to capture both the North
Carolina
Junior Girls' and Carolinas Junior Girls' titles in the
same
year. "The NC Junior Girls was such a big moment
for
me this summer," said Hawkins. "First, match play
was
a new format for me. I had been close to winning
some
big tournaments earlier this year and winning this
tournament gave me confidence and helped kick-
start
my year."
Hawkins added a victory at the AJGA Girls’
Championship and finished second at the 50th Twin
States Junior Girls. Topping off her year, the high
school
junior qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur
Championship. "My goal going in to 2016 was to
achieve
top 5 in the state, have a scoring average of 75 or
better, and win 3 tournaments. I am excited to have
achieved each goal this year."
The 16-year-old was quick to extend gratitude
to
others. "I would like to thank my high school coach
Hugh Quinn and my swing coach from Precision Golf
School Chris Haarlow for helping me to achieve my
goals," added Hawkins. "I'm so happy to have
received
this award. It is something I never dreamed of
achieving at the start of the year."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Eight Carolinas Men's Players of the Year are
current or former PGA Tour members while five
Carolinas Women's Players of the Year have
competed
on the LPGA tour. Notable past Tufts award winners
include: Jonathan Byrd (1999, PGA Tour), Beth
Bauer
(1999, LPGA), D.J. Trahan (2000-2002, PGA Tour),
Marcy Newton Hart (2000, LPGA), Brandi Jackson
(2002, LPGA), Bill Haas (2003, PGA Tour), Webb
Simpson (2006, PGA Tour), Dustin Johnson (2007,
PGA
Tour), Cydney Clanton (2009-10, LPGA), Mark
Anderson
(2009, PGA Tour), and Austin Ernst (2011, LPGA).