Josh Irving takes home Texas G.A. Player-of-the-Year title
Joshua Irving of Dallas (TGA photo)
DALLAS, Texas — The Texas Golf Association on Wednesday announced its
annual Players of the Year awards, and Joshua Irving of Dallas made history
as the first statewide Player of the Year to also win the award for his region in
the same year.
The 29-year-old Irving compiled an impressive number of results this year,
highlighted by a run into the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship in October. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur and teamed with
Michael Ray from Dallas to win the North Texas Four-Ball Championship in
February at Tierra Verde Golf Course in Arlington. He also won the North
Texas Amateur Championship in August at Gentle Creek Country Club in
Prosper. In addition, Irving finished third at the North Texas Mid-Amateur,
tied for sixth at the West Texas Amateur, took eighth place at the Texas Mid-
Amateur and scored a top-20 result with a T19 at the 106th Texas Amateur
Championship.
In addition to winning the 2015 TGA Player of the Year award, Irving also won
the North Texas Player of the Year honors. He’s the first to accomplish the
feat in TGA history.
“Josh won a championship right out of the gate in February, and he
maintained a stellar level of play throughout the year,” Ryan Finn, the TGA’s
Managing Director of Championships. “There was never a lull. He was
consistently outstanding all year.”
The Woodlands’ Mike Booker, 60, made some history of his own with another
Texas Senior Player of the Year award. After winning the 78th Texas Senior
Amateur at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio – site of the 107th Texas
Amateur – and second-place finishes at the South Texas Senior Amateur and
Texas Senior Four-Ball Amateur with partner Mike Peck from Irving, Booker
collected his record third Senior Player of the Year award. He also earned the
honor last year and in 2012.
“For being such a young senior, Mike is pretty decorated at the senior
amateur level,” Finn said. “Anytime you win a championship on a challenging
and historic course like Oak Hills, you know you’ve had a great year.”
Jay Reynolds of Austin rounds out the 2015 award winners. In his first year of
playing in TGA Championships, the 33-year-old Reynolds won the South
Texas Player of the Year award following his South Texas Mid-Amateur
Championship in March at Lakecliff Country Club in Spicewood. Reynolds also
recorded a top-five finish with a T5 at the South Texas Amateur
Championship in August at La Cantera Resort in San Antonio.
The TGA sends its most sincere congratulations to the 2015 Players of the
Year. With elite performances throughout the season, Irving, Booker and
Reynolds epitomize what it means to be an amateur champion. For more
information on the Player of the Year and the TGA competitive season, visit
txga.org.