AmateurGolf.com's Players of the Month: January 2022
31 Jan 2022
by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com
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The new year is off to a fast start, with record-setting performances, champions being crowned around the world, and the collegiate season now in full swing. We at AmateurGolf.com are all about fast starts, as we debut our first-ever Players of the Month, something we plan to do every month in 2022 and beyond.
In this, our first list, we look back at the players who shined the brightest in the month of January.
AmateurGolf.com's Players of the Month for January, 2022
HARRISON CROWE
You'd be hard-pressed to find another amateur who had a better month of January than the native of New South Wales, who won the
Australian Master of the Amateurs and the
New South Wales Amateur in a two-week span. Crowe went wire-to-wire to win the Master of the Amateurs with a 6-under total of 282 Victoria Golf Club and then raised the trophy at the New South Wales Amateur two weeks later with a 6 and 4 win over Jye Halls at Links Shellcove, which is just an hour from Sydney.
MATEO FERNANDEZ de OLIVEIRA
The Arkansas Razorback and Argentina native was one busy golfer during January, winning the
South American Amateur in Quito, Ecuador on January 15 and then a week later, finishing tied for second at the Latin America Amateur Championship in the Dominican Republic. No rest for the weary, Mateo then took a late flight from the D.R. to Tucson, Ariz. to compete in the
Arizona Intercollegiate and without playing a practice round, finished tied for 10th at 7-under 209 on rounds of 70-71-68.
AARON JARVIS
The flag of the Cayman Islands will fly proudly at the Masters, the British Open at St. Andrews, as well as the U.S. and British Amateur championships after the UNLV freshman won the
Latin America Amateur Championship at the Pete Dye-designed Teeth of the Dog in the Dominican Republic. Jarvis, ranked 1669th in WAGR, made a birdie on the final hole for a one-shot win.
YANA WILSON
The 15-year-old from Henderson, Nev. made two eagles en route to a final round 69 to pull even with 36-hole leader Anna Davis at the end of regulation at the
ANNIKA Invitational and then on the first playoff hole, slam-dunked a wedge from 75-yards out for her third eagle of the day to close out the win for her second AJGA title. The tournament was fittingly held at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.
KEVIN VANDENBERG
On his AmateurGolf.com profile, the 55-year-old lists as his greatest accomplishment winning the Triple Crown of Michigan Amateur Tournaments in 2000: the Michigan Amateur, the Golf Association of Michigan championship, and the Golf Association of Michigan Mid-Amateur. Playing his first full year as a senior, Vandenberg is continuing to rack up the accomplishments, winning the Heron Creek Invitational, finishing third at the Gateway Senior, posting two other top-15 finishes to take an early lead in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Player-of-the-Year points race.
DAVID PUIG
The Arizona State junior successfully defended his individual title at the
Southwestern Invitational held at North Ranch Country Club. With his two-shot victory over
Michael Brennan of Wake Forest and teammate
Cameron Sisk, Puig became the first-ever back-to-back winner at the Southwestern, and just the fourth player to win multiple Southwestern titles. The victory was his third overall as a collegian. The Spaniard made eight birdies and an eagle en route to a final round 65, which was just one stroke off the tournament record. Arizona State finished 30-under 834, setting the tournament record for the 54-hole event to earn a 13-stroke victory over host Pepperdine.
SEAN-KARL DOBSON
Admittedly, this one hits close to home and it's fitting that it caps off our list of outstanding performers in the month of January. After opening
AmateurGolf.com's Silicon Valley Classic with a course-record 62 at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Calif., Dobson closed the door on the title in the shadows of Stanford University, where the Austin, Texas native will play his college golf starting next fall. Dobson joins a list of past champions which include PGA TOUR stars Max Homa and Collin Morikawa.