Alabama Golf Association Names 2020 Board of Directors and Honors 2019 Championship Season

2019 Alabama Players of the Year (L-R): Michaela Morard, Susan West, Robert Nelson, Gordon Sargent

Related: PHOTO GALLERY | 2019 PLAYERS OF THE YEAR | 2019 ALL-STATE JUNIOR TEAMS

HOOVER, Ala. (March 10, 2020) -- On Saturday, March 7, 2020, the Alabama Golf Association’s Annual Meeting, Board of Directors meeting and Awards Luncheon was hosted by Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills.  

Annual Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting

At the Alabama Golf Association’s Annual Membership meeting, Carol Lell of Birmingham was re-elected to serve a second one-year term as President. Lell is the first female President in the history of the Alabama Golf Association. Lell was instrumental in the merger of the Women’s Alabama Golf Association and the Alabama Golf Association in 2010. Other officers elected to a second one-year term are Steven Hudson of Birmingham (Vice President); Walker Grant of Montgomery (Secretary); and Derrel Curry of Birmingham (Treasurer).

Re-elected Alabama Golf Association Board of Directors members are: Alan Allgood of Fairhope; Jan Berry of Madison; Flip Bradley of Huntsville; Forrest Crabtree of Mobile; Derrel Curry of Birmingham; Austin Davis of Birmingham; Patrick Drummond of Birmingham; Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile; Freeman Fite of Anniston; Nancy Gavin of Jacksons Gap; Walker Grant of Montgomery; Kathy Hartwiger of Birmingham; Brinson Holder of Point Clear; Joey Holley of Troy; Hoyt Howell, Jr. of Anniston; Steven Hudson of Birmingham; Travis Hudson II of Jasper; Sharon Kellum of Leeds; Lucie King of Tuscaloosa; Larry Kniseley of Daphne; Carol Lell of Birmingham; William Lewis of Tuscaloosa; Marvin Lynn Lowe of Gadsden; Chris Marr of Mobile; William McGowin of Montgomery; John Miller IV of Birmingham; David Pearce of Selma; Grantland Rice III of Birmingham; Stan Sherlin of Montgomery; Will Swift of Birmingham; Jim Teel of Auburn; Sam Vann of Dothan; Phillip Weaver of Tuscaloosa; Cody Wesley of Greenville; Susan West of Tuscaloosa. John Goldasich of Birmingham is a new member elected to the Board of Directors.

At the Board of Directors meeting, three members were elected to serve a one-year term on the AGA Executive Committee along with the four officers: Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile, Immediate Past President Grantland Rice III of Birmingham and Susan C. West of Tuscaloosa.

Annual Awards Luncheon

The Alabama Golf Association recognized several individuals with the Joe H. King Award, the Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year, Players of the Year, All-State Junior Teams and 2019 champions at an awards luncheon that followed the annual meeting.

Joe H. King Award: Beth Barry of Mobile was honored with the Joe H. King Award which is the highest honor that the Alabama Golf Association presents in amateur golf. Barry’s competitive playing record from the late 1960’s through the early 1980’s is nothing short of remarkable. Her resume includes: five Women’s Southern Golf Association Championship titles (1971, 72, 73, 75, 83), four Alabama Women’s State Amateur titles (1969, 70, 71, 72), two Women’s Mexican Amateur titles (1973, 74), member of two Curtis Cup teams (1972, 74), Women’s North and South Amateur champion (1973), participated in four U.S. Women’s Open Championship (1969, 73, 74, 75) and appeared in eight U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships (1971, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79). Off the course she has led efforts for junior golf programs in the Mobile-area since the early 1980’s and is still active today at RTJ Magnolia Grove.

Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award: Dr. Art Kelly of Birmingham received the Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award. Kelly has supported the AGA at countless tournaments, worked hundreds of hours and put thousands of miles on his automobiles traveling throughout the state to serve as starter and rules official all at his own expense.

Alabama Players of the Year: The Alabama Amateur Player of the Year awards are presented to the number one ranked individual in each of six categories at the end of the calendar year based on the AGA’s state amateur ranking system except for the two junior awards that utilize a September-August calendar year. The Men’s Player of the Year Award was first created in 1994 to honor Alabama amateur golfers who had exceptional individual tournament performances during the year. Since then, the awards have been expanded to include Women (2010), Senior Men (2016), Senior Women (2016), Junior Boys (2017), and Junior Girls (2017).

2019 Players of the Year:

  • Men: William Buhl, Fairhope
  • Women: Anna Claire Little, Auburn
  • Senior Men: Robert Nelson, Fairhope
  • Senior Women: Susan West, Tuscaloosa
  • Junior Boys: Gordon Sargent, Birmingham
  • Junior Girls: Michaela Morard, Huntsville

Alabama All-State Junior Teams: All-State team selections are determined from junior golfers performance over the past 12-months (September 1, 2017-August 31, 2019) using the Alabama State Junior Golf Rankings System. The top 15 boys and girls are awarded and placed into First, Second and Third teams based upon their final ranking.

2019 Alabama All-State Junior Teams:

Boys First Team

  • Jones Free, Marion Junction
  • Price Brown, Mobile
  • Austin Coggin, Vestavia Hills
  • Gordon Sargent, Birmingham
  • Ford Goldasich, Homewood

Girls First Team

  • Ally Williams, Athens
  • Erika Allen, Berry
  • Allison Howard, Newton
  • Michaela Morard, Huntsville
  • Lauren Gilchrist, Spanish Fort

Boys Second Team

  • Cole Davidson, Trussville
  • Thomas Ponder, Dothan
  • J.P. Cave, Mobile
  • ­Garrison Guthrie, Auburn
  • Harrison Davis, Fort Payne

Girls Second Team

  • Elisabeth Preus (Pruss), Auburn
  • Morgan Jones, Auburn
  • Emma Pittman, Pike Road
  • Lauren Thompson, Midland City
  • Emilia Smith, Enterprise

Boys Third Team

  • Max Johnson, Fairhope
  • Matthew Madden, Northport
  • Mac Scott, Mountain Brook
  • Ryan Eshleman, Vestavia Hills
  • Reynolds Lambert, Birmingham

Girls Third Team

  • Hannah Dees, Fairhope
  • Marilyn Steed, Birmingham
  • Jinger Heath, Decatur
  • Hanna Dyar, Anniston
  • Ashley Sinclair-Curtis, Enterprise

 

About the Alabama Golf Association (AGA)

The Alabama Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1915 whose mission is to serve and promote amateur golf in Alabama. AGA membership consists of over 110 member clubs represented by over 19,000 individuals. The activities and services of the Alabama Golf Association are governed by a Board of Directors consisting of Alabama golfers who wish to serve the game and the association through service.

AGA is the USGA's Allied Golf Association to deliver core services in Alabama such as conducting national championship qualifying, administering the World Handicap System including the GHIN service, course & slope rating and education. The AGA annually conducts 23 championships and team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. The AGA also conducts Alabama high school golf championships and assists with many collegiate events including the SEC Men's Golf Championship. In addition to competitions, the AGA administers the AGA Women's Scholarship Fund that is dedicated to assisting young female golfers in higher education and supports the Alabama Turfgrass Research Foundation.

Since 1980, the AGA has managed the affairs of the Southern Golf Association which includes conducting the Southern Amateur Championship and Southern Junior Championship, in conjunction with the Board of Directors of the Southern Golf Association.

For more information about the Alabama Golf Association, visit www.alabamagolf.org.

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