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.”