Noah Goodwin and Paphangkorn Tavatanakit named 2016 Rolex Junior Players of the Year
10/20/2016 | by American Junior Golf Association
The AJGA also announced the Rolex Junior All-Americans
“When I outlined my goals at the beginning of the year, I listed two: to be the Rolex Junior Player of the Year and to be on the United States’ Junior Ryder Cup team,” Goodwin said. “I am proud to have accomplished both of these goals.”
Goodwin was the runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur while also picking up his fourth AJGA title at Bishops Gate Golf Academy Junior. The U.S. Junior Amateur wasn't the only USGA event Goodwin had success in as he made it to the Round of 64 at August's U.S. Amateur.
At the AJGA's Ping Invitational the 2018 SMU commit set a new single round scoring record by firing a second round 9-under 63. The round included 10 birdies and just one bogey. Goodwin ended up finishing second, one of three top-five finishes in 2016 AJGA invitational events.
Goodwin and USA Junior Ryder Cup team were victorious over Europe 15.5-8.5.
UCLA commit Paphangkorn Tavatanakit was the winner of two AJGA events over the past season and also made two deep runs in USGA events, making it to the Round of 16 in both the U.S. Junior Girls' and U.S. Women's Amateur.
“This award defines the best player in junior golf and I didn’t dare to dream about receiving it because of the many talented golfers capable of winning this award,” Tavatanakit said. “Winning this award means the world to me.”
Her most recent AJGA win came at the Ping Invitational were she finished with a record setting 12- under 204 that put her an impressive eight-strokes clear of the field.
Tavatanakit became the first native of Thailand to win the award since LPGA Tour standout Ariya Jutanugarn won in consecutive seasons, 2011 and 2012.
2016 AJGA Rolex Junior All-AmericansBOYS
First Team
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, CA Cooper Dossey, Austin, TX Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, NC Noah Goodwin, Corinth, TX Cole Hammer, Houston, TX Eugene Hong, Orlando, FL Won Jun Lee, Wesley Chapel, FL Joaquin Niemann, Santiago, Chile John Pak, Scotch Plains, NJ Davis Shore, Knoxville, TN Bryan Teoh Wiyang, Jupiter, FL Norman Xiong, San Diego, CA
Second Team
Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, LA Austin Eckroat, Edmond, OK Wilson Furr, Jackson, MS Austin Hitt, Longwood, FL S.M. Lee, Buford, GA Kaiwen Liu, San Diego, CA Sean Maruyama, Encino, CA Noah Norton, Chico, CA Travis Vick, Houston, TX Karl Vilips, Wesley Chapel, FL Trey Winstead, Baton Rouge, LA Brandon Yoon, Brambleton, VA
Honorable Mention
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, LA Akshay Bhatia, Wake Forest, NC Devondeep Bling, Ridgecrest, CA Cullan Brown, Eddyville, KY Frankie Capan, North Oaks, MN Nicolas Cassidy, Johns Creek, GA Joseph Chun, Irvine, CA Devin Deogun, Orchard Lake, MI Austin Fulton, Villa Rica, GA Connor Futrell, Tallahassee, FL Brock Goyen, Gilbert, AZ Evan Katz, Washington DC Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, FL Walker Lee, Houston, TX Andrew Lewis, Carmel, IN Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, FL Nate Menon, Wyomissing, PA Mason Nome, Houston, TX Kaito Onishi, Irvine, CA Reese Ramsey, Austin, TX Clay Seeber, Newport Beach, CA Spencer Soosman, Westlake Village, CA Robin Williams, Peterborough, United Kingdom Wocheng (Aden) Ye, Lake Mary, FL
GIRLS
First Team
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, CA Jaravee Boonchant, Bradenton, FL Kristen Gillman, Austin, TX RuQing Guan, Guangzhou, China Muni He, Simi Valley, CA Rachel Heck, Memphis, TN Gina Kim, Chapel Hill, NC Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, NC Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, TX Yujeong Son, Norman, OK Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, Bangkok, Thailand Xinying (Miranda) Wang, Pleasanton, CA
Second Team
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, FL Hailee Cooper, Montgomery, TX Isabella Fierro, Merida, Mexico Allyson Geer, Brighton, MI Emilee Hoffman, Folsom, CA Hailey Jones, Dallas, TX Xin (Cindy) Kou, Windermere, FL Grace Ni, Cypress, TX Kelly Sim, Edgewater, NJ Elizabeth Wang, San Marino, CA Kenzie Wright, McKinney, TX Lei (Angelina) Ye, Shanghai, China
Honorable Mention
Jenny Bae, Lawrenceville, GA Addie Baggarly, Jonesborough, TN Jennifer Chang, Cary, NC Jayna Choi, Collierville, TN Megan Furtney, South Elgin, IL Kendall Griffin, Sebring, FL Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose, CA Aubree Jones, Covington, TN Gurleen Kaur, Houston, TX Auston Kim, St. Augustine, FL Alexa Melton, Covina, CA Ashley Menne, Surprise, AZ Michaela Morard, Huntsville, AL Yealimi Noh, Concord, CA Calista Reyes, San Diego, CA Karah Sanford, Escondido, CA Brooke Sansom, Pike Road, AL Rino Sasaki, Bradenton, FL Brooke Seay, Rancho Santa Fe, CA Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, IN Micheala Williams, Athens, AL Kelsey Zeng, Orlando, FL Rose Zhang, Irvine, CA Katherine Zhu, San Jose, CA
-The AJGA and Golfweek contributed to this story
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