Girls’ Co-Player of the Year:  Ashlan Ramsey, Milledgeville Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville had quite a year on the golf course in 2011, and that is why she is the GSGA Girls’ Co-Player of the Year.  This is Ramsey’s first GSGA player of the year distinction.

She finished fifth at the Georgia Women’s Open, which is conducted by the Georgia Section PGA.

On the national circuit, Ramsey qualified for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., and made it through the stroke-play qualifying to the round of 16.  Ramsey also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., and made it to the round of 64.

Ramsey was fortunate to have been selected to represent the United States on the 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup Team, where she helped Team USA retain the Cup at Knightsbrook Hotel Spa and Golf Resort in County Meath, Ireland.  She was also selected to the 2011 Rolex Junior Al-American Girls First Team.

Ramsey will graduate from John Milledge Academy in Milledgeville in 2013.

Girls’ Co-Player of the Year:  Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale Many outstanding golfers have won multiple Player of the Year honors over time, but only two could previously say they earned the title outright at least five years in a row, including David Noll, Jr. (Men’s Player of the Year 2007-11) and Laura Coble (Women’s Player of the Year 1998-2007).  Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale now joins that elite group with her fifth-straight Girls’ Player of the Year honor (2007-11).

In GSGA action, Stackhouse made it to the quarterfinals of the Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, where she fell to the eventual champion.

Stackhouse qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs,Colo., and competed in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., where she reached the round of 16.

Like Ashlan Ramsey, Stackhouse was also selected to represent the United States on the PING Junior Solheim Cup Tea, in County Meath, Ireland, helping the U.S. bring home the Cup.  She was also picked to the 2011 Rolex Junior All-American Girls First Team.

Marietta, GA. - Junior Player of the Year:  Greyson Sigg, Augusta By winning the Georgia Junior Championship in 2011, Greyson Sigg of Augusta earned enough points to also win his first GSGA Junior Player of the Year title.  The 16-year-old won the annual junior competition, which was contested on his home course at Augusta Country Club, by three strokes.

Winning the junior championship in Augusta, Sigg joined two other players, Chase Parker (2008) and Michael Green (2004), as the only local players to win it the last three times the event was held at an Augusta course.  This was the second time Sigg played in the Georgia Junior Championship, having tied for 19th a year ago at Green Island Country Club in Columbus.

Sigg finished second at a qualifier at Marietta Country Club in Kennesaw to earn a spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship for the first time.  There he competed in the stroke-play qualifying rounds at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.

Set to graduate from Richmond Academy of Augusta in 2013, Sigg shot a 69 to finish as individual runner-up and led his team to finish tied for second-place in the 2011 Class AAA state high school championship at Chattahoochee Golf Course in Gainesville.

Marietta, GA – Senior Player of the Year:  Bill Leonard, Kennesaw The 2011 season was a success for Bill Leonard of Kennesaw, as he earned his second overall, and first since 2006, GSGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year title.  Leonard narrowly edged out two of his fellow competitors in Larry Clark of Kingston and Jimmy Jackson of Macon, but this year’s honor belongs solely to him.

In GSGA competitions, Leonard finished runner-up at the Georgia Senior Championship at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, just one stroke back of the champion, Jackson.  Later in the year, Leonard advanced to the round of 16 at the Atlanta Amateur Match Play Championship held at Rivermont Golf and Country Club inJohns Creek.

Leonard was selected to represent the senior amateurs in the biannual Billy Peters Cup Matches at Capital City Club-Crabapple in Woodstock, where he split his two matches played.

Leonard also competed in the national stage, qualifying and advancing to the round of 32 at the USGA Senior Amateur Championship at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot,Va.

Marietta, GA- Women’s Player of the Year:  Laura Coble, Augusta Laura Coble of Augusta enjoyed yet another successful year on the golf course in GSGA competitions and in national championships.  Due to her many accomplishments in 2011, she is the GSGA Women’s Player of the Year for the third year in a row, and 12 of the last 13.

Coble finished runner-up in the Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship, an event she has won eight times, at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton.  She also helped her state win the Georgia-Florida Women’s Team Matches held at Harbor Club inGreensboro.  There she helped earn one point for Team Georgia.

At the Georgia Women’s Open, conducted by the Georgia Section PGA, Coble tied for sixth.  Coble also earned points by finishing third overall at the Georgia Women’s Golf Association’s Amateur Championship.

In national contests, Coble qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach, Va., where she advanced to the round of 16.  She was selected to the USGA Women’s State Team for the fifth time, where she helped Georgia successfully defend its title and win for the third time overall (2005, ’09, ’11).  Coble has been a part of all three of Georgia’s national championship teams.

Marietta, GA - Men’s Player of the Year:  David Noll, Jr., Dalton Throughout the year, David Noll, Jr., of Daltonkept his game at a high level in every competition he entered.  That consistency has paid off once again as he is the GSGA Men’s Player of the Year for 2011.  This marks the fifth consecutive time, and seventh overall, that Noll has earned this honor, tying only Allen Doyle for the most titles in this category.

The highlight of Noll’s year on the golf course was winning his second Georgia Amateur Championship at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta by four strokes.  Over the last 10 Amateur Championships since 2002, Noll has placed in the top 10 nine times, finished among the top six eight times (including a current streak of seven straight) and posted two wins (2003, 2011) along with a pair of runner-up finishes.

At the Georgia Four-Ball Championship at Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Noll teamed up with Mark Strickland of Woodstock to earn runner-up honors.  His next GSGA event, the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club inValdosta, Noll tied for fifth, marking the seventh time in the last 10 years he has finished among the top six.

Noll was then selected, based on his strong play throughout the year, to participate in the biannual Billy Peters Cup Matches at Capital City Club-Crabapple in Woodstock.

On the national circuit, Noll was medalist at a U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship qualifier held at The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon.  He went on to advance to the round of 64 in the national championship held at Shadow Hawk Golf Club in Richmond, Texas.

MARIETTA, GA – In a year that included a pair of victories and many other dominating performances, Brenda Pictor of Marietta was selected as the Tommy Barnes Award winner for the second consecutive year, signifying the Georgia State Golf Association’s overall player of the year for 2011.  Pictor was announced as the winner and honored at the GSGA’s Players of the Year Luncheon, held at Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta on January 21, 2012.

During the 2011 GSGA competitions season, Pictor distanced herself from the rest of the field, earning an impressive 550 more points than the next-closest competitor in the Senior Women’s Player of the Year race.

In the inaugural Georgia Senior Women’s Match Play Championship at Doublegate Country Club in Albany, Pictor topped Maria Johnson of Jesup in the 19-hole final match to win the first senior women’s GSGA event of the year.  Later in the year, Pictor made it to the quarterfinals of the Georgia Women’s Match Play Championship at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, before falling to Lauren Court of Lawrenceville, 2 up.

At the Georgia Top 60 Women’s Classic at The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon, Pictor finished in a five-person tie for 12th.  Finally at the GSGA Senior Women’s Championship at Brookstone Golf and Country Club in Acworth, Pictor dominated the field and won by 12 strokes.  The win was her third consecutive senior women’s championship and fourth overall (2007, ’09, ’10, ’11), and the 12-stroke margin of victory is believed to be the largest in event history.

In the Georgia Women’s Golf Association (GWGA) Amateur Championship at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee in Eatonton, Pictor earned the Burns Cup, awarded to the senior golfer with the lowest 36-hole score.

Pictor qualified for and competed in a number of national championships in 2011.  At the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach,Va., she earned medalist honors in the stroke-play qualifying round before falling to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals.  Next up was the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, where she advanced to the round of 16 before falling to the eventual runner-up at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.

The award’s namesake, Tommy Barnes of Atlanta, was one of Georgia’s legendary amateur golfers.  Among his many accomplishments, Barnes captured the 1941 Georgia Amateur Championship, won the 1947 and ’49 Southern Amateur titles, qualified for 16 consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships and played in the 1950 Masters Tournament.  In 1989, at age 73, Barnes shot 62 to break Bobby Jones’ 67-year-old record at his home course, East Lake Golf Club.  He also had a long history of service to GSGA and other golf associations, and was a member of numerous Halls of Fame.  Barnes passed away in 2007 at age 91.

Atlanta, Georgia – The owners of Cross Creek Country Club in Mount

Airy, North Carolina, have hired Affiniti Golf Partners to manage and

improve the club.

Affiniti Golf Partners is an Atlanta based golf club management company

with eighteen (18) golf courses it either owns or manages in the Southeast.

Affiniti’s Partners and Principals have collectively two hundred years of

club management experience at more than sixty clubs throughout the

United States. The complete Affiniti story can be found atwww.affinitigolf.com.

Barry was the winner of a brand new set of Mizuno golf clubs! Congrats Barry!

St. Simons Island, GA — The team of Chris Dixon, PGA apprentice at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, and Greg Lee, PGA assistant professional at Chicopee Woods Golf Course in Gainesville, made 17 birdies, one eagle against only two bogies over 36 holes to capture the Traynor Golf Collection / Mizuno Pro-Pro Championship, which was contested at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside and Plantation courses.   The duo fired a 10-under par 62 on thePlantation course today to go along with a first round 7-under par 63 on the Seaside course to finish the championship at 17- under par, 125.

The team of Patrick Richardson, head PGA professional at Wilmington Island Club in Savannahand Richard Hatcher, head PGA professional at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta fired a tournament total of -13 under par 129.

The duo of Drew Pittman, head PGA professional at Hackers Golf Park in Statesboro and Paul Claxton, of St. Simons Island who plays on the Nationwide Tour  alone in third place at 11-under par 131.

In the Senior Division, the team of PGA professional Pete Webster of the Southeastern GolfCenter in Ringgold and PGA head professional Lonnie Reece of Spring Lakes won with a two-day total of 6-under par 136.

By Mike Blum

Some prominent names in international golf did not receive at least one Christmas present they were hoping for – an invitation to the 2012 Masters.

Multiple major champions Ernie Els and Retief Goosen both failed to end 2011 in the top 50 in the World Rankings, and will need to either win a PGA Tour event or move back into the top 50 by late March to qualify for the 2012 Masters.

Joining Els and Goosen on the outside looking in regarding a coveted Masters invitation is Ryo Ishikawa, Japan’s No. 1 player and one of golf’s mast heralded young stars. Ishikawa was just inside the top 50 at the end of the 2011 golf season, but when the rankings were updated after the last two weeks of the year – when there were no official
tournaments – he fell to 51st.

Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano moved up from 51st to 49th, while Jim Furyk fell two spots from 48th, narrowly holding on to his precarious spot in the top 50. Both players qualified for the Masters by ending 2011 in the top 50, with nine other players gaining invitations on that basis.

Alvaro Quiros won the European Tour finale – the Dubai World Championship – to move from just outside the top 50 to near the top 20 and earn a Masters invitation. Also qualifying for the 2012 Masters were Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Kyung-tae Kim, Sang-moon Bae, Rickie Fowler, Simon Dyson, Francesco Molinari and Miguel Jimenez.

With the latest addition of qualifiers, the Masters now has 92 players – not counting former Masters champions unlikely to compete – in the field as of the end of 2011.
For the players who ended the year without an invitation, there are two ways to qualify for the 2012 Masters. They can win a tournament on the 2012 PGA Tour prior to the Masters (the two events held opposite the early season WGC tournaments excepted), or move into the top 50 after Arnold Palmer’s tournament at Bay Hill, played two weeks before the Masters.

Goosen ended 2011 53rd in the rankings, with Els 56th, Italy’s Matteo Manassero 58th and Australians’ Robert Allenby and Greg Chalmers 59th and 60th.

The top two American players currently not in the Masters field are No. 54 Ben Crane and No. 57 Ryan Moore. Other players yet to qualify for the 2012 Masters include Jeff Overton, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas and J.B. Holmes.

Here is a list of players currently qualified for the 2012 Masters, grouped by their primary invitation criteria:

Masters champions – Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson, Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mark O’Meara, Ben Crenshaw, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Craig Stadler, Tom Watson.

U.S. Open champions (2007-11): Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover.

British Open champions (2007-11): Darren Clarke, Louis Oosthuizen, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington.

PGA champions (2007-11): Keegan Bradley, Martin Kaymer, Y.E. Yang.

Players champions (2009-11): K.J. Choi, Tim Clark, Henrik Stenson.

Top 16, 2011 Masters: Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald, Bo Van Pelt, Ryan Palmer, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker, Edoardo Molinari, Brandt Snedeker, Ross Fisher.

Top 8, 2011 U.S. Open: Kevin Chappell, Robert Garrigus, Peter Hanson, Sergio Garcia.
Top 4, 2011 British Open: Dustin Johnson, Thomas Bjorn.

Top 4, 2011 PGA: Jason Dufner, Anders Hansen, Robert Karlsson, David Toms, Scott Verplank.

PGA Tour winners, post 2011 Masters: Brendan Steele, Bubba Watson, Harrison Frazar, Fredrik Jacobson, Nick Watney, Sean O’ Hair, Scott Stallings, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas.

Top 30, 2011 FedExCup: Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Chez Reavie, John Senden, Aaron Baddeley, Gary Woodland, Charles Howell, Mark Wilson, Jonathan Byrd.

Top 30, 2011 PGA Tour money list: Martin Laird, Rory Sabbatini, Kevin Na.

Top 50, World Rankings, end of 2011: Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Alvaro Quiros, Kyung-tae Kim, Sang-moon Bae, Rickie Fowler, Simon Dyson, Francesco Molinari, Miguel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Jim Furyk.

Amateurs: Bryden Macpherson (British), Corben Mills (Public Links), Kelly Kraft (U.S. champion), Patrick Cantlay (U.S. runner-up), Randall Lewis (Mid-Am), Hideki Matsuyama (Asian).