2013 was another phenomenal year for the
competitive amateur game. There were
remarkable team and individual
performances,
spirited play from two of the world's rising
stars and, of course, who can forget the
Walker Cup at the picturesque National Golf
Links of America. As we close the book on the
2013 season, here's a look at the top
moments, players and stories of the year.
U.S.
Player of the Year: Michael
Weaver
Perhaps the most important characteristic
a golfer can possess is consistency. And, for
more than a year now, Cal Bears senior
Michael
Weaver has proven to be one of the world's
most consistent golfers.
For starters, Weaver was a key component
to Cal's memorable 2012-2013 season. He
helped the Bears win 12 of 14 stroke-play
tournaments, setting a modern-day NCAA
single-season record. He also found his way
into the U.S. Open field by way of his 2012
U.S. Amateur runner-up finish. In 2013,
Weaver also tied for medalist at the NCAA
West Regional, placed second at The Players
Amateur, took sixth at the Western Amateur,
logged a top 10 at the Northeast Amateur and
took 14th at the Southern Amateur. His
efforts, of course, landed him a spot on the
victorious U.S. Walker Cup squad, for which
he
went 1-3-0.
Worl
d
Player of the Year:Brady
Watt
 |
Brady Watt, the
Australian phenom who recently turned
professional, simply outpaced the competition
with top finish, after top finish all over the
world. Watt, who tied for third at the
prestigious Porter Cup and took 10th place
finishes at the Southern Amateur and Sahalee
Players also did a lot of damage in
international
events.
He won the Riversdale Cup and took runner-
up at the Australian Master of the Amateurs.
He was fourth at the South African Stroke Play
and tied for eighth at the Asia-Pacific Open
Amateur.Perhaps his most-documented finish,
however, came at The Country Club in
Brookline where he reached the semifinals of
the U.S. Amateur before falling to fellow
Australian Oliver Goss
National
Senior Player of the Year:
Doug Hanzel
Was there any other option this year?
From Savannah, Georgia, Doug
Hanzel catapulted to the top of the
senior golfing world with wins this year at the
U.S. Senior Amateur, Society of Seniors Dale
Morey Championship and Dixie Senior.
He added Top 10s at the Coleman Invitational
and Oglethorpe Invitational and took low
amateur honors at the U.S. Senior Open.
National
Women's Player of the
Year: Ashlan
Ramsey
This one wasn't even close. Ramsey, a
freshman golfer at Clemson University, won
the
Women's Eastern Amateur and placed second
at the Trans National Amateur. She added Top
5s at the Harder Hall, Sally and played deep
into the Women's North & South Amateur
(quarterfinals) and the Jones/Doherty
Women's
Amateur (Semifinals).
Calif.
Player of the
Year: Michael
Weaver
The U.S. Player of the Year, Michael
Weaver, was by default the top player in his
home state of California. Weaver outlasted
fellow Cal teammates Max Homa (now
professional) and Michael Kim for the top
prize.
Cory McElyea, who reached the U.S. Open,
placed fourth just ahead of Cal Bears' Brandon
Hagy. To view the complete
California
Player-of-the-Year points list, click here>
Texas
Player of the Year: Cory
Whitsett
Capped off by terrific play at the Walker
Cup, Cory Whitsett's 2013 earned him top
honors in our Texas rankings. Whitsett
stormed
out of nowhere for perhaps the year's most
impressive win at the Northeast Amateur,
closing with a 63. He also took runner-up
finishes at the Sunnehanna and Jones Cup,
along with Top 20s at the NCAA Championship
and Southern Amateur.
amateurgolf.com Tour Player of the
Year: Cody
Robinson
Cody Robinson, a senior at Saint Mary's,
won the California Medal Play Championship
and logged Top 15s in the four other
amateurgolf.com Tour events he played in. He
placed eighth at the Silicon Valley Amateur,
presented by CHAMP Spikes, tied for 12th at
the Wine Country Cup and Diablo Valley
Amateur and placed 14th at the San Diego
County Amateur. The victory that keyed his
run to the top of the AGC Tour rankings was
thanks to a final-round 70 at the Medal Play
Championship. After a first-round 75,
Robinson
trailed leader Nick Moore by three shots only
to surge in the final round for a come-from-
behind victory that ultimately sealed his
Player
of the Year crown over Moore, who finished
second in the rankings.
amateurgolf.com Tour Senior
Player of the Year: Mark Miller
Mark Miller, a dentist who resides in
Brentwood, California, vaulted past Senior
amateurgolf.com Tour points leader Ron
Johnson of Walnut Creek, Calif., with a 50
point victory at the amateurgolf.com Christmas
Classic in Monterey. Miller has been the most
decorated amateurgolf.com Senior Tour player
ever, with an amazing 14 tournament wins.
That's just for amateurgolf.com events! That
record has resulted in Miller winning the Senior
POY title the last three years and 5 of the 7
years since we've been keeping track. Always
looking for a competitive edge by taking
lessons, using the best equipment, and
practicing, Miller knows how to get the job
done under pressure.
amateurgolf.com Tour Player of
the Year: Vincent Steele
Talk about consistency. Steele hasn't finished
outside the Top 10 in more than a year! After
a second-place finish at last year's Diablo
Valley Amateur, he went on to win the 2013
Diablo event, tied for first at the Monterey
County Four-Ball, tied for third at the
California
Medal Play Championship and took eighth at
the 2013 Christmas Classic.