Tacoma, Wash. – Washington Golf (WA Golf) has announced the Player of the Year award recipients for 2024. The category winners are as follows: Men’s, Max Herendeen of Bellevue; Women’s, Angela Zhang of Bellevue; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Andrew Von Lossow of Spokane; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Taya Battistella of Bellingham; Senior Men’s, Tom Brandes of Bellevue; Senior Women’s, Kim Shek of Bellevue; Junior Boys’, Theodore Snyder of Gig Harbor; and Junior Girls’, Niuniu Zhao of Woodinville.
The recipients will be honored at the 103rd WA Golf Annual Meeting, held on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Allenmore Golf Course in Tacoma, Wash.
Men’s Player of the Year – Max Herendeen
During the 2024 golf season, Herendeen played his best in the nation’s highest profile amateur championships. He had top-5 finishes in the Sunnehanna Amateur and Washington Men’s Amateur, made the round of 16 at the Western Amateur, tied for 18th at the Pacific Coast Amateur, and participated in the U.S. Amateur. Now a sophomore at the University of Illinois, Herendeen won the NCAA Division I Regionals and went on to finish tied for second in the NCAA Championship. He was named the Big 10 Freshman of the Year. In 2022, Herendeen had been named the WA Golf Junior Boys’ Player of the Year.
Women’s Player of the Year – Angela Zhang
Still just 15 years old, Zhang has been named the Women’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. In 2024, she had top-5 finishes in the Dixie Amateur, Washington Women’s Amateur, Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational, and the Washington Women’s Champion of Champions. She played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the CPKC Women’s Open, and was named to the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team. Zhang had been named the WA Golf Junior Girls’ Player of the Year in 2022, and last year was named the Women’s and Junior Girls’ Player of the Year.
Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year – Andrew Von Lossow
Among his accomplishments in 2024, Von Lossow made the round 32 at the PNGA Men’s Amateur and the round of 64 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. He also took second place in the Spokane City Championship. Competing against the region’s PGA professionals, Von Lossow had top-20 finishes in the Washington Open, Northwest Open, and Oregon Open, and then broke through in winning the Rosauers Open Invitational. In 2022, Von Lossow had been named the WA Golf Men’s and Men’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year.
Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year – Taya Battistella
Battistella won the 2024 Washington Women’s Mid-Amateur and took fourth place in the Oregon Women’s Mid-Amateur. She tied for second at the Northwest Women’s Open. On the national stage, Battistella made the round of 64 at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and tied for fourth in the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Senior Men’s Player of the Year – Tom Brandes
This is now the 13th time that Brandes has earned the Senior Men’s Player of the Year honor. The Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famer won the Washington Senior Men’s Champion of Champions for the fourth consecutive year, and eighth senior title overall. He finished second in the Washington Senior Men’s Amateur, and tied for 10th in the PNGA Senior Men’s Amateur. He also qualified for the U.S. Senior Men’s Amateur.
Senior Women’s Player of the Year – Kim Shek
Shek has now earned this honor for the third year in a row. She won the Washington Senior Women’s Amateur, and finished second in the PNGA Senior Women’s Amateur. She was a quarterfinalist in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open.
Junior Boys’ Player of the Year – Theodore Snyder
In 2024, Snyder was a quarterfinalist in the PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur. He had three top-10s in WJGA tournaments, and capped his year by winning the WJGA State Junior Championship. He also finished third in the WIAA High School 3A State Championship, and tied for third in the WJGA Junior World Qualifier.
Junior Girls’ Player of the Year – Niuniu Zhao
Zhao won two WJGA titles in 2024, and also won the Notah Begay Washington Regional. She was a semifinalist in the PNGA Women’s Amateur, won medalist honors in the North Pacific Junior Ladies, finished second in the Washington Women’s Amateur, and tied for third in the Washington Women’s Champion of Champions.
About the WA Golf Player of the Year Awards
Founded in 2007 as a way of recognizing and awarding excellence in competition, the WA Golf Players of the Year are selected each year in early October by the WA Golf Championship Committee, which meets to vote for honorees in the categories of Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Men’s Mid-Amateur, Women’s Mid-Amateur, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’. The WA Golf Performance Points list as the primary guide for the selection. Since WA Golf does not have a performance points list for juniors, WA Golf receives these nominations for selection from the Washington Junior Golf Association. To view all past WA Golf Players of the Year since 2007, click here.
About Washington Golf
Founded in 1922, WA Golf is a 501c4 non-profit, amateur golf association governed by men and women volunteers. Serving more than 95,000 individual members at more than 550 member golf clubs and 270 golf courses throughout the state of Washington and Northern Idaho, WA Golf works to continually expand the game of golf to people of all backgrounds and abilities.
WA Golf also serves as a statewide representative of the United States Golf Association and works closely with a number of allied associations within the golf industry for the betterment of the game. Visit wagolf.org for more information.
Media Contact
Vinny Fiorino – vfiorino@wagolf.org
(253) 279-3709
