The 2024 AGC Players of the Year

December 29, 2024 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Luke Clanton (USGA Photo)

It was an incredible year for amateur golf and the golfers that make the sport worth following

It was an incredible year for amateur golf and the golfers that make the sport great. From USGA wins to contending at PGA Tour events and leading international teams to wins, the golfers on this list have put together eye-popping resumes this season.

Here are the AmateurGolf.com 2024 Players of the Year:

Men's Player of the Year: Luke Clanton

In the coming years, we’ll see if the Men’s Player of the Year Award will go to players who continue to blur the line between the amateur and professional levels. Clanton’s year was extraordinary.

The No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, Clanton won three events in a row last spring for Florida State (Seminole Intercollegiate, Valspar, Collegiate Lewis Chitengwa Memorial) and notched a runner-up finish in the NCAA Individual championship.

Those performances earned him a spot on the PING First-Team All-America team. Clanton was also selected to the Palmer Cup team, but he did not compete in Ireland.

That performance earned him a spot in the following week’s John Deere Classic. He fired a closing round 63 to clinch a runner-up finish and had many wondering if he was going to match Nick Dunlap’s achievement and become the second amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 2024.

With all that success in the spring, Clanton was just getting started. He qualified for the U.S. Open and finished T41. His Sunday playing partner was fellow amateur Neal Shipley. They dueled for the low amateur honor, and a birdie putt on 18 slid by the hole to give Shipley a one-shot win over Clanton.

That U.S. Open appearance was one of eight professional events that Clanton played in during the second half of 2024. He made seven cuts in those eight appearances. He finished 10th in the Rocket Mortgage Classic with rounds of 69-68-665-72.

In November, Clanton challenged history again at the RSM Classic. He shot 68-65-68-66 to finish in second place, one shot behind Maverick McNealy. Other notable PGA Tour results include a fifth place in the Wyndham Championship and another runner-up in the RSM Classic in November.

At the conclusion of the U.S. Amateur, where he reached the Round of 32 before losing to Jackson Buchanan, Clanton was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal.

Over the course of his college career, Clanton has earned 17 PGA Tour University Accelerate points—three shy of earning his PGA Tour Card.

Women's Player of the Year: Lottie Woad

The AGC Women’s Player of the Year will also be awarded to a Florida State Seminole. Lottie Woad had an incredibly steady year with some spectacular highs that helped her earn this recognition.

In April, Woad won the Augusta Women’s National in dramatic fashion. After Bailey Shoemaker grabbed the lead with a final round 66, Woad found herself needing birdies coming home. She delivered with birdies on hole Nos. 15, 17, and 18 to edge Shoemaker by a shot.

That performance highlighted a strong spring season for Woad. She recorded four top-10 finishes, including a third place in the NCAA Regional and a runner-up in the NCAA Individual championship. She won the ACC Player of the Year and was also named to the PING First-Team All-America team and set the school’s course record 70.56.

Two weeks after the ANWA win, Woad teed it up in the Chevron Championship. She opened with rounds of 71-69 and made the cut. She wrapped up the week in 23rd place. It was the first of four appearances in major championships for Woad. Her best showing was a 10th place in the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews, winning the Smyth Salver as the low amateur.

In September, before heading back for her fall season at FSU, Woad was a pivotal member of team GB&I in the Curtis Cup. Her underdog squad stunned the golfing world with a victory over Team USA at Sunningdale. She teamed up with Sara Byrne and went undefeated in those four matches (1-0-3). Even with a loss to Asterisk Talley, her leadership and poise were huge during the entire week.

This fall, Woad has not rested on her laurels. She has been exceptional for FSU in her junior year. She has not finished outside the top three this season, including a win in the Landfall Tradition, a runner-up in the Schooner Fall Classic, and two third place finishes in the Folds of Honor Collegiate and Jackson T. Stephens Cup.

U.S. Women’s Player of the Year: Anna Davis

Anna Davis burst onto the national scene in 2022 when she won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur while wearing a bucket hat and a zip-up sweater barely synched together. In January she arrived on campus at Auburn as a freshman and won her first event in the NCAA Regional Championship.

Even in her shortened 2024 college season, she was selected to WGCA All-American Second Team and an SEC All-Freshman Team. In addition, her 71.68 scoring average is fourth best for a single season in program history. She won her second college event in the fall at the Illini Invitational with rounds of 67-69-67.

Over the summer, Davis competed in both amateur and professional events in the USA and Europe. She missed the cut in the Italian Ladies Open and lost in the Round of 32 in the Women’s Amateur Championship at Portmarnock.

While in Ireland, she represented Team USA in the Palmer Cup at Lahinch, where Team USA beat Team Europe. It was not the only time Davis represented the United States, as she teed it up in the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale.

Back in the United States, Davis reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills before losing to Maria Jose Marin in an epic 21 holes.

In addition to Davis’ win this fall for Auburn, she has only lost to four total golfers. She has recorded two runner-up finishes (Cougar Classic and Schooner Fall Classic) and a third place finish at The Ally. Her fall performance placed her on the ANNIKA Award final fall watch list.

Mid-Amateur Player of the Year: Altin Van Der Merwe

For the second year in a row, South Africa’s Altin Van Der Merwe has been named AmateurGolf.com’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, and it’s no surprise. His 2024 season was nothing short of spectacular, blending precision, strategy, and standout performances both at home and abroad—all while setting the stage for his next big leap.

Last year, Van Der Merwe’s game was about volume, competing in 18 events and racking up an incredible 5,650 points. This year, he switched gears, focusing on quality over quantity. He played just 10 handpicked tournaments across Africa and Europe, collecting 3,650 points before turning professional in July.

Before bidding farewell to amateur golf, he made sure to leave his mark. Van Der Merwe captured two major wins at the GolfRSA International Amateur and the Africa Amateur Championship. He also added a runner-up finish at the Free State Open and three more top-10s to his growing list of achievements. On the international stage, he delivered strong results, including a T6 at the Scottish Open Amateur, T10 at the Brabazon Trophy, and T12 at the St. Andrews Links Trophy.

His 2024 stats tell the story: 15 rounds in the 60s across 36 played. With such a strong foundation, turning professional wasn’t just the next step for Van Der Merwe—it was the realization of a dream he’s nurtured for years.

He recorded 15 rounds's in the 60's in 36 rounds.

U.S. Mid-Amateur Player of the Year: Evan Beck

Evan Beck of Virginia Beach capped off an incredible 2024, finishing as runner-up in the AmateurGolf.com Player of the Year Rankings and earning the honor of being the highest-ranked American.

After narrowly missing out on wins at the U.S. Mid-Amateur and Coleman Invitational in 2023, Beck roared back this year to claim victories in both. His season was all about quality, competing in just four events but winning three—a staggering 75% success rate. His triumphs at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, Coleman Invitational, and George C. Thomas Invitational earned him 2,100 points and cemented his status as one of the best mid-amateurs in the world.

Sharing the runner-up spot in the rankings with Beck is Matthew McClean from Northern Ireland, the 2022 Player of the Year.

McClean also tallied 2,100 points but took a different route, competing in eight ranking events. His season highlights included a victory at the Irish Open Amateur and a hard-fought second-place finish at the Coleman Invitational, where he trailed Beck by just three strokes. McClean's consistency was evident with a sixth-place finish at the East of Ireland Amateur, a T13 at the Lytham Trophy, and a strong showing at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he advanced to the Round of 32.

Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto secured fourth place in the rankings with 1,750 points, showcasing his talent across eight events. Oliva Pinto’s season was highlighted by three top-10 finishes, with his best result—a T5—coming at the South American Amateur.

Rounding out the top five was Texas native Bobby Massa, who tallied 1,600 points from just four appearances. While Massa didn’t notch any wins, his best finish came with a T14 at the Texas Amateur, demonstrating flashes of the talent that earned him a spot among the year’s top performers.

Senior Player of the Year: Kevin Vandenberg

Not many golfers in the country played more golf than Kevin Vandenberg of Pulaski, N.Y. And the level of golf he played was astonishing.

Showing an incredible level of consistency, Vandenberg played in 27 rankings tournaments this year, recording 26 top-25 finishes, 18 top-ten finishes, and 16 top-five finishes

Through the season, Vandenberg pulled away from the rest of the senior players, accumulating 6,225 points through the 27 tournaments. He started off the season with a win at the Plantation Senior and kept the great golf going all throughout 2024.

Mark Strickland of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., finished with 4,650 to record a second-place finish to Vandenberg. Super Senior Player of the Year Randy Haag of Orinda, Calif., finished in third place with 4450.

Miles McConnell of Tampa, Fla., finished with 4,200 points to record a fourth-place finish, and Bob Royak of Alpharetta, Ga., the No. 1 ranked player in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings, finished with 4,175 points to round out the top five.

Vandenberg won the 2024 Plantation Senior to open up his season and then went on to record a solo third-place finish at the Gateway Senior Invitational and a T2 finish at the Heron Creek Senior. He won the 2022 Heron Creek Senior.

Vandenberg also won the 2023 Two Rivers Senior Invitational, the 2022 Senior Porter Cup, and the 2021 Sunnehanna Senior. Vandenberg has come close to this title before, finishing third in the Player of the Year race in 2023 and second in the 2022 Player of the Year race.

Super Senior Player of the Year: Randy Haag

In the Super Senior Division, Randy Haag of Orinda, Calif., put together one of the best seasons you will see in Amateur Golf. He not only won the Super Senior Division with 4,450 points, but he finished third in the Senior Division.

In his Amateur Golf career, Haag has won over 100 Northern California tournaments and has been named the Northern California Golf Association Player of the Year four times. He has also played in 20 USGA events, won national events like the Stocker Cup and Crump Cup, and is the three-time AmateurGolf.com Player of the Year.

Accomplished amateur golfer and 2022 and 2023 AmateurGolf.com Super Senior Player of the Year Doug Hanzel of Savannah, Ga., finished in second place with 3,700 points, while Jack Hall of Savannah, Ga., finished in third place with 3,450 points. Hanzel also won the 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2019 AmateurGolf.com Senior Player of the Year.

Greg Goode of Salina, Kan., finished in fourth place with 3,000 points, and James Starnes of Fort Myers, Fla., finished with 2,725 points to round out the top five.

Haag won nine solo tournaments in the 2024 season and was on the winning United States team in the Concession Cup, where he recorded 2.5 points of his own. He won events like the NCGA Senior, his first in that category, the National Senior Hall of Fame, and the Society of Seniors Senior Masters. He also made the semifinals of the Crump Cup and the final 32 of the U.S. Senior Amateur.

In addition to his win, Haag recorded three other top-five finishes and seven top-ten finishes. His worst finish of the year in rankings tournaments was a T10 at the Golfweek Senior National.

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