Awards presented to top boy and girl golfers during
The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, on February 21st
NORCROSS, Ga. – U.S. Kids Golf announced that Honda, the Official Vehicle of U.S. Kids Golf, will present the 2016 U.S. Kids Golf Player of the Year Awards for the third consecutive year during the Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on February 21, 2017.
This year’s winners are Karoline Tuttle, age 13, from Lake Mary, Fla. and Shawn Coultoff, age 10, of Winter Garden, Fla. Honda provided special invitations for the winners and their families to attend the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort where the young players will receive their awards.
The award is presented to the top-rated boy and girl for their competitive golf season. To be eligible, players must earn Player of the Year honors at a U.S. Kids Golf Local Tour in the United States. This is done by winning the Local Tour points standings and competing in four or more events within a season from the previous year’s summer season through the current year’s spring season. Players must participate in an 18-hole age group during the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship (Girls 10 and older, Boys 9 and older).
The National Player of the Year Award winner is the highest finisher at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship who meets the above criteria. In the event of a tie, the lowest score relative to par at the event determines the winner.
Tuttle finished 1st in the Girls 12 division for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and Coultoff finished in 2nd place in the Boys 9 division for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, NC.
“The U.S. Kids Golf National Player of the Year Award is the highest honor that we can bestow on these great junior golfers,” stated Dan Van Horn, President and CEO for U.S. Kids Golf. “We are very proud of Karoline and Shawn’s accomplishments made throughout the year in competitive play, and we look forward to watching their golf games develop in the future. Honda has been an outstanding partner for U.S. Kids Golf and we look forward to joining them as we recognize our Players of the Year for 2016”.
Tuttle began playing golf at the age of 6 where she was introduced to the game of golf by her father, and she played in her first competition at the age of 9. Her competitive golf record includes over 26 first place finishes, three State titles and several local Player of the Year titles. She was runner-up in in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships at Pinehurst in 2014, and 2015 and she captured the World Championship title in 2016 for her age group. She was the first player in history to win all possible event titles during the World Championship including the Parent/Child Championship, the U.S. Kids Golf Team Championship, The World Championship, The Van Horn Cup and she received the Morrison Medal for the low team score during the Van Horn Cup.
Karoline is a seventh grade honor student at Annunciation Catholic Academy. When she is not practicing and play golf, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing soccer and basketball with her twin brother Karter and mentoring young golfers. Her dream for the future is to play collegiate golf and to continue to have fun playing the game. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her role model and favorite LPGA player, Paula Creamer who she had the opportunity to play with in the LPGA Tour Championship Pro-Am.
“I am grateful that U.S. Kids Golf has provided me the opportunity to play competitively, and it is an honor to be recognized as the U.S. Kids Golf Player of the Year,” said Tuttle. “I have made many close friends around the world by playing golf, which makes the time I spend in Pinehurst during the World Championship even more fun and special. I love playing golf and will always remember it all started with U.S. Kids Golf.”
Shawn began swinging his first golf club at age 2, and was introduced to the game of golf by his father, who played collegiate golf and 7 years of professional golf. He has finished 1st in over 65 tournaments including 21 in 2016. He finished 8 under par during the 2016 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. In addition to enjoying playing competitive golf, Shawn plays in the Junior Magic Basketball League, plays tennis and soccer, studies piano and enjoys hanging out with his sister Mackenzie and friends. He is an avid reader, and he is currently a 4th grade honor roll student at Whispering Oak Elementary School. Shawn looks forward to following in his father’s footsteps playing college and professional golf and possibly joining his PGA TOUR idols Rickie Fowler, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as a PGA TOUR player in the future.
“I have made a lot of my best friends while playing on the U.S. Kids Golf Tour,” stated Coultoff. My game has improved, and my hard work and practice have started to pay off. It is an honor to be selected as the 2016 U.S. Kids Golf Player of the Year and I am excited to receive this award during the Honda Classic.”
Winning the National Player of the Year Award will offer Tuttle and Coultoff an exemption for all U.S. Kids Golf events through age 18. Additionally, Honda invited both winners to an experience of a lifetime to participate in the Honda Classic Gold Pro-Am during the Honda Classic. The award winners and their families will be guests of Honda during the Classic.
“Honda is pleased to continue to work with the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, which is dedicated to family interaction and helping kids to have fun learning and playing the game of golf,” said Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Honda. “We are honored to support the achievements of these young golfers and celebrate their accomplishments at the Honda Classic. We are excited to present the Player of the Year award to Karoline and Shawn, and we wish them both success in the future.”
About U.S. Kids Golf
U.S. Kids Golf, LLC is based in Atlanta and manufactures equipment and related golf products designed for kids. It was created in 1997 when Founder/CEO Dan Van Horn found that his children were losing their interest in golf due to not having the proper equipment.
In addition to more than 4,000 golf shops and retail locations in the United States, the company’s products also are available in over 75 countries worldwide.
The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, a Georgia non-profit recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity, was created in 2001 and provides services that include competition and instruction. The Foundation organizes more than 1,200 golf tournaments for kids each year with over 12,000 individual players ages 5-18.
These tournaments include Local Tours in over 80 cities worldwide, ten U.S.-based Regional Championships, fourteen State Invitationals, ten international multi-day tournaments which includes the prestigious European Championship, and the pinnacle events held each year in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and Teen World Championship.
The vision of the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation is to provide kids and their families the opportunity participate in the game of golf through instruction and competition. They believe that family interaction is critical in the development of young golfers and encourage parents to serve as caddies for their kids during tournaments and to develop positive coaching techniques.
For more information about U.S. Kids Golf, please contact Lane Andrews (landrews@uskidsgolf.com) at 770-441-3077, ext. 625.
Connect with U.S. Kids Golf:
Website: www.uskidsgolf.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/USKidsGolf
Twitter: www.twitter.com/USKidsGolfFDN
Blog: www.uskidsgolf.wordpress.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/USKidsGolfFDN
About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Accord and Clarity Fuel Cell passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot sport/utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan. Honda has been producing automobiles in America for 34 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2016, more than 96 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
Honda seeks to be a company that society wants to exist, creating products and technologies that improve the lives of people while minimizing the environmental impacts of its products and business operations to ensure a sustainable future. Honda also is committed to making positive contributions to the communities where it does business, to socially responsible business practices and to the promotion of diversity in its workforce.
From Honda’s involvement in STEM education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to its support of pediatric brain tumor research and volunteer efforts by Honda associates – including environmental clean-up activities – Honda believes in giving back to the communities where its associates live and work. Learn more at csr.honda.com.
Connect with Honda:
Media Newsroom (for journalists): www.hondanews.com
For consumers: http://automobiles.honda.com/Odyssey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Honda
YouTube: www.youtube.com/honda
Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda
Contact:
Peter Ross Stilwell, (910) 215-0861
peterstilwell@tarheelcommunications.com
www.uskidsgolf.com
