Season-long ranking system determines Players of the Year
Two-time defending Alabama Men’s Amateur champion Gordon Sargent and high school freshman Molly Brown Davidson are the Alabama Golf Association’s Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year for 2021.
It’s Sargent’s second time to be named Men’s Player of the Year, while it is Davidson’s first time to be honored. Davidson also was named Junior Girls Player of the Year.
Other honorees announced by the AGA this week were: John Wright, Senior Men’s Player of the Year; Kathy Hartwiger, Senior Women’s Player of the Year; Nick Dunlap, Junior Boys Player of the Year.
The AGA announced the winners this week on its website. The AGA uses a season-long ranking system to select its players of the year.
In 1994, the Men’s Player of the Year Award was established. More recently, the award expanded to include Women (2010), Senior Men (2016) and Senior Women (2016), Junior Boys (2017), Junior Girls (2017).
Seven Alabama Men’s Players of the Year have competed on the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions. Notable past award winners include Garrett Osborn (2000), Patton Kizzire (2003), Bobby Wyatt (2011-2012), Michael Johnson (2013), and Robby Shelton IV (2015). Will Swift (2002, 2005, 2006) and Steve Hudson (2004, 2009, 2010) are tied for the most awards with three apiece.
Hartwiger holds most awards for Alabama Women’s Player of the Year with five (2010-2012, 2015, 2021).
Complete Alabama Amateur Player Rankings are available on the Alabama Golf Association website.
2021 Alabama Amateur Players of the Year
Men’s
Gordon Sargent of Birmingham is a freshman at Vanderbilt University. He is one of the five individuals chosen to receive the prestigious Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award. He defended his state title at the Alabama State Amateur Championship, finished runner-up at the Western Amateur and was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Boys Junior Championship. He also advanced to the Round of 64 at this year’s U.S. Amateur. Sargent finished second at AJGA’s Ping Invitational, third at AJGA’s Simplify Boys Championship and went on to finish fourth at AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions.
“It’s pretty special to be named as the Alabama Men’s Player of the Year,” Sargent said. “Jump-starting the summer and winning the State Am was big. It gave me my momentum heading into my freshman year of college.”
He is a two-time Alabama Boys State Junior Player of the Year (2019 & 2020) and two-time Alabama Men’s Player of the Year (2020 & 2021).
Women’s
Molly Brown Davidson of Birmingham is a freshman at Hewitt-Trussville High School. This is her first Alabama Women’s Player of the Year. She won multiple title this season, including the following events: SJGT Championship, Lee Hodges Classic, Mid-South Masters, Indian Pines, Callaway Gardens Junior Classic and the Cypress Lakes Golf Club. She finished second in the Alabama Women’s State Amateur, Alabama Women’s Stroke Play, Alabama Girls State Junior and Lake Mary Junior Open. She also finished T5 in both the AJGA Huntsville Junior and Magnolia Grove Junior Classic.
“It is such an honor to be named for both the Alabama Girls State Junior Player of the Year and the Alabama Women’s Player of the Year,” Davidson said. “I’d like to thank the AGA for helping me achieve my goals and better myself as a person. All glory to God for giving me the opportunity to compete with these incredible players. I look forward to the upcoming season and playing in more AGA events!”
She is the 2021 Alabama Women’s Player of the Year and 2021 Alabama Girls State Junior Player of the Year.
Senior Men’s
John Wright of Fairhope is the 2021 Alabama Senior Men’s Player of the Year. This is his second consecutive Alabama Senior Men’s Player of the Year award. He finished second at the Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship and third in the Golfweek Senior Challenge cup. Wright was a semifinalist in the 1st Alabama State Senior Match Play Championship. He secured top-10 finishes at the 24th Alabama State Senior Championship, 2021 Jones Cup and Golfweek Player of the Year Classic.
“I’d like to say what an honor it is to win for the second year in a row,” Wright said. “We have such a strong and competitive senior class, which makes it all the more rewarding.”
In 1989, Wright won the Alabama State Amateur Championship.
Senior Women’s
Kathy Hartwiger of Birmingham is the 2021 Alabama Senior Women’s Player of the Year. She claimed victory at the 3rd Alabama Women’s State Senior Four-Ball, the 3rd Alabama Women’s State Senior Match Play Championship and the 2021 WSGA Senior Championship. She also finished third at the 48th Alabama Women’s State Senior Amateur Championship and 64th Senior Women’s North & South Amateur. Hartwiger advanced to the Round of 64 at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and finished as a quarterfinalist in the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.
Hartwiger has won a record 21 Alabama State Championships.
2021 Junior Boys
Nick Dunlapof Huntsville is a senior at home school. He captured the U.S. Boys Junior Championship, winning his final match 3 and 2. Before that, he won the Dustin Johnson Junior World Championship, the U.S. Amateur qualifier and the AJGA’s Polo Golf Junior Classic. Dunlap finished T2 at both the Boys Junior PGA Championship and AJGA’s Wyndham Invitational. Dunlap will represent Alabama in next year’s U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Dunlap has one career AGA State Title: Alabama Boys State Junior (2018). Dunlap was the 2018 Alabama Boys Junior Player of the Year.
The Alabama Junior Players of the Year awards are based on Alabama State Junior Golf Rankings. The points accumulated from September 1 thru August 31 of the current year are taken into consideration.
Past Alabama Players of the Year Award Winners
Men
1994 – Eric Hamilton
1995 – Patrick Levio
1996 – John Coles
1997 – Eric Hamilton
1998 – Scott Weatherly
1999 – Joey Holley
2000 – Joey Holley
2001 – Talbert Griffin
2002 – Will Swift
2003 – Patton Kizzire
2004 – Steve Hudson
2005 – Will Swift
2006 – Will Swift
2007 – Garrett Osborn
2008 – Talbert Griffin
2009 – Steve Hudson
2010 – Steve Hudson
2011 – Bobby Wyatt
2012 – Bobby Wyatt
2013 – Michael Johnson
2014 – Stewart Jolly
2015 – Robby Shelton IV
2016 – Patrick Martin
2017 – Matt Gourgeot
2018 – Clay Guerin
2019 – William Buhl
2020 – Gordon Sargent
2021 – Gordon Sargent
Women
2010 – Kathy Hartwiger
2011 – Kathy Hartwiger
2012 – Kathy Hartwiger
2013 – Cammie Gray
2014 – Virginia Green
2015 – Kathy Hartwiger
2016 – Elaine Wood
2017 – Elaine Wood
2018 – Cammie Bentley
2019 – Anna Claire Little
2020 – Mychael O’Berry
2021 – Molly Brown Davidson
Senior Men
2016 – Steve Hudson
2017 – Steve Hudson
2018 – Claud Cooper
2019 – Robert Nelson
2020 – John Wright
2021 – John Wright
Senior Women
2016 – Susan West
2017 – Susan West
2018 – Susan West
2019 – Susan West
2020 – Susan West
2021 – Kathy Hartwiger
Junior Boys
2017 – Ethan Hagood
2018 – Nick Dunlap
2019 – Gordon Sargent
2020 – Gordon Sargent
2021 – Nick Dunlap
Junior Girls
2017 – Michaela Morard
2018 – Michaela Morard
2019 – Michaela Morard
2020 – Michaela Morard
2021 – Molly Brown Davidson
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Photos courtesy of the Alabama Golf Association
