SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kevin Vandenberg

Pulaski, New York

Kevin Vandenberg didn’t merely repeat as Senior Player of the Year in 2025—he elevated the standard.

The Pulaski, N.Y., standout amassed 7,975 ranking points, a 28% increase over his 2024 total, to secure his second consecutive AmateurGolf.com Senior Player of the Year title. No senior amateur matched his combination of volume, resilience, and results.

Vandenberg competed in a grueling 28 ranked events, opening the year by defending his title at the Plantation Senior Invitational on Florida’s Bobcat Course. His rounds of 75-70-74 produced a four-shot victory, even as a shaky final-round stretch tested his resolve.

He followed with a three-win surge:

Beyond the wins, his season featured six runner-up finishes, five additional top-fives, and eight more top-10s.

SUPER SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Greg Goode

Salina, Kansas

Greg Goode claimed the Super Senior Player of the Year title in 2025 with 2,825 points, surging past the field after finishing fourth last year.

Goode opened with three straight wins:

He added four runner-up finishes and seven additional top-10s to complete a commanding season.

Last year’s top Super Senior, Randy Haag of Orinda, Calif., finished ninth in 2025 with 1,375 points from seven events, highlighted by a T-2 at the Golfweek Senior Amateur. Haag remains one of amateur golf’s most decorated competitors with over 100 Northern California tournament wins, four NCGA Player of the Year honors, 20 USGA starts, national victories including the Stocker Cup and Crump Cup, and three AmateurGolf.com Player of the Year awards.

MID-AMATEUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Stuart Grehan

Ireland

Stuart Grehan quit the professional grind after seven seasons in Europe—winning four EuroPro Tour events—then reinstated his amateur status last October during a Challenge Tour stop in Prague. As a new father to an infant born in June, he completed the paperwork alongside his wife Carla, played his final pro round the next day, and six months later returned as a financial advisor with a new mission.

In 2025, he dominated with remarkable efficiency: 2,300 points in just seven events to rise to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and claim Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honors.

Key 2025 highlights included:

His consistency earned selection by GB&I Walker Cup captain Dean Robertson as the only mid-amateur on the St Andrews Trophy team against Europe in Madrid, before joining the Walker Cup squad at Monterey Peninsula.

Last year’s Mid-Amateur No. 1, Altin Van Der Merwe, now plays on the DP World Tour.

WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Paula Martín Sampedro

Spain

Paula Martín Sampedro claimed the 2025 AGC Women’s Player of the Year title with 8,400 points—a season defined by consistency, resilience, and star-caliber performances on both sides of the Atlantic.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, a Stanford junior and reigning Women’s Amateur and European Ladies’ Amateur champion, opened with a key win at the Juli Inkster Meadow Intercollegiate before capturing the Women’s Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl.

She carried that momentum into the AIG Women’s Open, producing a brilliant final round to finish T-8—best among the amateurs in the field—and earning the Smyth Salver.

Across 13 events, Martín Sampedro recorded 11 top-10 finishes, including runner-up showings at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore, the Stanford Intercollegiate, and the San Diego State Classic. She closed with a fifth-place finish at the Nanea Invitational.

MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jackson Koivun

United States

Jackson Koivun’s rise to No. 1 in the AGC Rankings felt predestined, and his year-end mastery left no room for debate. In 20 ranked events, the Auburn sophomore amassed 11,400 points and a commanding 4,200-point lead over second place.

His wins included the SEC Championship and the NCAA Southwest Amateur, plus 10 more top-10 finishes. He finished ahead of South Africa’s Christiaan Maas (7,200 points).

Koivun’s Auburn season repeated historic benchmarks: SEC Player of the Year and individual champion again, plus victories at the Inverness Intercollegiate and NCAA Auburn Regional. His stats included a 69.00 stroke average over 38 rounds, 31 rounds under par, 19 rounds in the 60s, and nine consecutive top-10s to finish.

Beyond college, he anchored Team USA at the Walker Cup at Cypress Point and captured the Mark H. McCormack Medal as WAGR’s top male amateur, earning exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Open (Shinnecock Hills) and Open Championship (Royal Birkdale).

WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR — UNITED STATES

Kiara Romero

United States

Kiara Romero finished as the No. 1 American in the AGC Rankings in 2025 with 7,900 points across 14 ranked events, placing second worldwide but first among Americans.

The 19-year-old Oregon star earned two signature wins—the Big Ten Women’s Championship and NCAA Women’s Southwest Regional—plus three runner-up finishes. She captured the Mark H. McCormack Medal, securing exemptions into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera and AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham.

Her defining major moment came at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, where she posted a final-round 67, the lowest amateur score in championship history.