Two former winners and four first-timers are named Players of the Year by the Carolinas Golf Association
The Richard S. Tufts Awards were established in 1997 to honor Carolinas amateur golfers who had exceptional individual tournament performances over the preceding year. Tufts served on the CGA Executive Committee from 1926 to 1964. The awards are given to the number one golfer based on the CGA rankings at the end of the calendar year in each of six categories (men, women, senior men, senior women, junior boys, junior girls). Award winners will be honored at Carolinas Golf Night at National Golf Club in Pinehurst, NC on Friday, February 10, 2006.
Paul Simson, 54, of Raleigh, NC capped his 2005 season with a second Carolinas Player of the Year award (1998). Simson, an insurance executive, captured the Carolinas Amateur and Stocker Cup championships, tied for fifth at Carolinas Mid-Amateur and USGA State Team championships, tied for 10th at Keith Hills Amateur, tied for 11th at North Carolina Mid-Amateur and tied for 13th at the North Carolina Amateur. Simson, a 13-time CGA champion, also captained the Carolinas team to a victory over the Virginias at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in October.
Maggie Simons of Raleigh, NC claims the Carolinas Women’s Player of the Year honor. The 21-year-old won the North Carolina Women’s State Amateur, second at the Western Amateur, fourth at the Eastern Amateur and tied for 17th at the Trans National.
David Strawn of Charlotte, NC wins his first Senior Men’s Player of the Year award. Strawn’s best finish was a tie for second at the National Senior Hall of Fame tournament in High Point, NC. The 56-year-old attorney, also placed third at the Yeamans Hall Senior Amateur, fourth at the North Carolina Senior, qualified for match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur championship, tied for 19th at Carolinas Mid-Amateur and tied for 20th at North Carolina Amateur.
Patty Moore of Charlotte, NC retains her title as Carolinas Senior Women’s Player of the Year. The 55-year old won the Eastern Senior and North & South Senior, tied for second at Carolinas Women’s Senior, fourth at the North Carolina Women’s State Amateur, tied for ninth at the Carolinas Women’s Match Play, tied for 13th at Western Senior, qualified for match play at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and tied for 17th at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
In junior golf, the Carolinas Golf Association, in conjunction with the South Carolina Golf Association, the Carolinas PGA Section, Women’s Carolinas Golf Association, the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association, and the North Carolina Independent Insurance Agents Youth Classic, named their Carolinas Associations Junior Player of the Year Awards. The award honors junior golfers who excelled in Carolinas associations events during the 2005 season. David Chung of Fayetteville, NC and Amber Littman of Stoney Creek, NC are this year’s winners.
David Yujin Chung, a high school sophomore, won the NC Junior Championship while also tying for third in the US Junior Amateur Championship. Chung was also the runner-up in the 2004 US Junior, and was also a member of the All-Carolinas Junior team in 2004.
Amber Littman, a high school junior from Stoney Creek, NC, won the NC Junior Girls Championship and the Junior Girls Championship of NC, along with reaching the semifinals of the Carolinas Girls Championship, finished second in the Carolinas PGA Westfields Championship, finished ninth in NC Independent Insurance Agents Championship and qualified for and advanced to match play in the USGA Girls Junior Championship held in Boise, Idaho. Littman was a member of the All-Carolinas Girls team in 2004. Littman has represented the Carolinas in the Mid-Atlantic Challenge the past 2 years.
Richard S. Tufts Award Winners
Men
1997 – Cliff Cunningham, Monroe, NC
1998 – Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC
1999 – Jonathan Byrd, Elgin, SC
2000 – D.J. Trahan, Inman, SC
2001 – D.J. Trahan, Inman, SC
2002 – D.J. Trahan, Inman, SC
2003 – Bill Haas, Greer, SC
2004 – Todd White, Moore, SC
2005 – Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC
Senior Men
2001 – Robert Kulp, Winston-Salem, NC
2002 – Cliff Cunningham, Monroe, NC
2003 – Robert Kulp, Winston-Salem, NC
2004 – Robert Kulp, Winston-Salem, NC
2005 – David Strawn, Charlotte, NC
Women
1997 – Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Fletcher, NC
1998 – Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Fletcher, NC
1999 – Beth Bauer, Cramer Mountain, NC
2000 – Marcy Newton, High Point, NC
2001 – Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Fletcher, NC
2002 – Brandi Jackson, Belton, SC
2003 – Amber Marsh Elliott, Jamestown, NC
2004 – Patty Moore, Charlotte, NC
2005 – Maggie Simons, Raleigh, NC
Senior Women
2001 – Karen Ferree, Hilton Head Island, SC
2002 – Karen Ferree, Hilton Head Island, SC
2003 – Karen Ferree, Hilton Head Island, SC
2004 – Patty Moore, Charlotte, NC
2005 – Patty Moore, Charlotte, NC
Carolinas Association’s Junior Players of the Year Award Winners Junior Boys
2003 – Vince Hatfield, Greenwood, SC
2004 – Brad Dilen, Cary, NC
2005 – David Chung, Fayetteville, NC
Junior Girls
2003 – Mallory Hetzel, Summerfield, SC
2004 – Emily Street, Forest City, NC
2005 – Amber Littman, Stoney Creek, NC
Contact:
Andy Priest
Carolinas Golf Association
apriest@carolinasgolf.org
