One of the closest Player of the Year points races in NCGA history came down to a suggestion from one of the NCGA’s greatest players ever.
Having had to skip the annual California State Fair Amateur due to being outside the country, Salinas resident AJ Fitzgerald entered the final month of the 2023-24 season looking for a chance to make up for any potential lost points.
During a conversation with 11-time NCGA winner Nick Randazzo, Randazzo suggested that Fitzgerald play in the Tracy City Championship. Fitzgerald signed up and went on to win the event in a one-hole playoff to earn 50 points. The 50 points helped Fitzgerald secure the Player of the Year title by a mere 22 points over runner-up Mike Perchak, as Fitzgerald finished the season with 1,185 points, with Perchak finishing at 1,163 points.
Ironically, in 2015 Randazzo needed a victory to clinch that year’s Player of the Year title. He’d win the final event, the Valley Amateur, in a nine-hole playoff in 100-degree heat.
“It’s very cool to be Player of the Year. I’m thrilled,” said Fitzgerald, a 24-year-old who played for CSU-Monterey Bay. “Five or six years ago, I didn’t think this was something I could do.”
For Fitzgerald, the difference between then and now has been three-fold: he’s older, has more time to practice and figured out his putter.
“In 2020-21 I started working with my coach Grant Geertsen again who helped me get a love for the game back and a drive to practice more. Along with practicing more, I got a lot better on the course mentally. I don’t let things bother me as much,” Fitzgerald said. “With putting, I switched to a long putter. That’s made me more confident on the greens.”
In all, Fitzgerald would notch 12 Top 10’s during the season. Highlights included runner-up finishes at the San Francisco City and NCGA Stroke Play Championship. He’d also play in the U.S. Amateur and took fifth at the Alameda Commuters.
“At the San Francisco City, what was cool was that the weather at times was pretty bad. I managed to fight through that,” Fitzgerald said. “At the Stroke Play, I had all three rounds in the 60’s. I didn’t win either, but I took a lot away from both events that will help me down the road.”
After three straight years of winning Junior Tour of Northern California Girls’ Player of the Year honors, we knew that Chowchilla resident Asterisk Talley was good.
In what became an incredible stretch from late spring into early September, however, Talley, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, took it to another level.
There was a win at the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, an eighth-place finish at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and a victory at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title with partner Sarah Lim.
Later, Talley shared low amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she was the youngest competitor. She’d also finish as runner-up at the U.S. Girls’’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she became the first player in history to appear in three USGA championship matches in one year.
Topping things off, and before heading back to school for the fall, Talley competed for Team USA in the Curtis Cup, where she beat world No.1 women’s amateur Lottie Woad, 3 and 2 in Singles. She also competed in the PING Junior Solheim Cup for Team USA, helping the Yanks to an 18.5-5.5 win over Team Europe.
In all, Talley collected a record 2,535 points to win NCGA Women’s Player of the Year honors. Nicola Kaminski was second with 1,260 points. The previous Women’s Player of the Year points record had been 1,600, set by Sabrina Iqbal in 2017.
“My year was very exciting and obviously eventful. I had a lot of fun with all my new experiences,” Talley said. “I think practice and dedication really helped me succeed, along with a good mindset.”
Among the reasons for all of Talley’s success? An ability to stay in the moment while also being aggressive.
“I feel like I'm always calm on the golf course. I don't really get nervous,” Talley said. “But at the same time, my course management is kind of fearless. I’ve been playing in tournaments since I was 5 years old, so I’ve lived with nerves my whole life.”
After turning age 65 in January 2024, Orinda resident Randy Haag had the option of competing in Super Senior events.
He’d decide to continue competing as a Senior, and the beat just kept on going.
The longtime Olympic Club member won his third straight NCGA Senior Player of the Year title and record-tying fifth overall crown, finishing the season with 2,200 points. Mike Stieler was second with 1,333 points.
For Haag, the title marked his 11th total NCGA Player of the Year title. He won a still-standing NCGA record six “regular” (age 55-under) titles in a span from 1993-2011, his last coming at the age of 52. His other Senior titles came in 2017, ’19, ’22 and ’23.
During the 2023-24 NCGA season, Haag again was simply stellar. He won seven times in 12 starts, including the NCGA Senior Triple Crown—Senior Four-Ball with partner Chip Lutz, the Senior Amateur Match Play and the Senior Championship.
Other big wins came at the San Francisco City Senior and the Alameda Commuters Senior. Haag also reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Amateur.
“I can’t really remember having a better season, except maybe when I won Player of the Year in 2009 at 50. That year I went to the semifinals of the California Amateur and NCGA Amateur and won the Stocker Cup,” Haag said. “This last season is certainly up there.”
Haag, who finished the season as the No.4 ranked over-50 amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, attributes his ageless success to three big recent changes---his putting style, his equipment and his lifestyle.
Once renowned for this side-saddle putting, Haag now putts broomstick style. “It’s given me much more confidence on the greens,” he says. “Now I’m making the 3-4 footers that I wasn’t before.”
As for his clubs, he’s now using a set that was gifted to him from his best friend. The result there? He’s hitting his 7-iron 180 yards.
Finally, Haag started Pilates workouts, which combine mind-body exercises.
“The Pilates has been a tremendous help. I got addicted to it,” Haag said. “Before, my body didn’t work so well on the back-nine.”
The 2022-23 season wasn’t very kind to NCGA Hall of Famer Lynne Cowan.
Through most of the year, the 62-year-old Rocklin resident battled pain in her right foot. It got so bad that for nearly 10 months, she could barely walk. A series of MRI’s, other treatments and even a stack of in-soles for her right shoes—nothing helped.
“I would wake up and the pain would just progress, so I would hobble around,” Cowan said.
Then, one morning in January 2024 the longtime Sierra View CC member awoke and the pain was gone.
It was time to get back to work, which for Cowan means winning. She’d end up capturing her record sixth NCGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year crown, finishing the 2023-24 season with 1,433 points. Lara Tennant was second with 1,300 points.
Feeling better, Cowan would win the PWGA Legacy Open (for the first time) and placed second at the NCGA Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship. She also reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. It was at the U.S. Senior Women’s Am that the points race would be decided. Had Tennant, a three-time winner of the event won, she would have surpassed Cowan.
Other Cowan wins came at the Sacramento Valley Senior, where she won after a four-hole sudden-death playoff, and at Sierra View after wrangling the club title back from friend Karen Garcia.
“Looking back, I kind of had a slow start to the season,” Cowan said. “That win at the Sacramento Valley, having to go thru the extra holes. That was the one that got me going.”
It’s that feeling of “going” that keeps Cowan coming back to the tee box time and time again.
“Golf gives me something to work for and to look forward to. I was happy to be walking and playing again without pain,” Cowan said. “This winter I plan to work on my conditioning to prepare for next season as I try to navigate the aches and pains of senior golf.”
Following a six-win season in 2022-23, Brentwood resident Terry Foreman had a feeling that even better things were on the horizon.
“I knew that things were starting to come together,” Foreman said. “My game, my confidence and stamina. I was looking forward to the next season.”
Turned out, all of the premonitions were correct. Over the course of the 2023-24 season, Foreman upped his win total to seven en route to winning Super Senior Player of the Year honors with a record-setting total of 2,159 points. The previous record total was 1,798 points, set by NCGA Hall of Famer Jeff Burda in 2021. Jim Williams finished second with 1,555 points.
In what was a memorable season, Foreman picked up a win at the 2024 NCGA Super Senior, his first NCGA title since the 2015 Senior Four-Ball. He also nabbed wins at among other stops the Sacramento Valley Super Senior, Sonoma Valley Super Senior and AmateurGolf.com Christmas Classic.
“The key to it all is that I’m finally playing pain-free again,” said Foreman, a 67-year-old retired police officer. “I’ve got the time and energy to work on my game again.”
Over the last decade, Foreman looked like an NFL injury report. He had nearly 10 knee surgeries, including both knees being replaced. He also had shoulder surgery with nerve damage.
On the physical front, Foreman attributes his rehabilitation to his Wellness nurse, Kat. As for his swing, for the last three years he’s been working with instructor Jeff Brehaut, mainly on his backswing and transition down and through the ball.
“Anything prior to 2020, I was just never very comfortable on the course. It was a struggle to walk 18 holes,” Foreman said. “Now, I don’t get all those nagging aches and pains anymore.”