Sarah Bae and Carter Jenkins Named 2012 NC Junior Players of the Year

West End, NC—Sarah Bae of Cary and Carter Jenkins of Raleigh have been named the 2012 N.C. Junior Players of the Year by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA) and the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA). This is the third straight year Bae has been named the NC junior girl’s player of the year.  The N.C. Junior Player of the Year award recognizes one girl and one boy who have had the most successful year in amateur and junior golf events at the local, state, regional and national levels.

Bae, a 17 year old high school senior at Athens Drive High School, finished 2012 with seven victories including the last four she competed in.  Her biggest victory was the NCHSAA 4A state girls’ championship in which Bae had three previous high finishes in the state championship, but captured the individual state title in her last opportunity.  In the 24 tournaments Bae competed in, she placed in the top 10 in all but two.  In June, Bae qualified for the USGA’s US Women’s Amateur Pub-Links Championship where she advanced to match play and finished tied for 33rd.  Bae will play collegiate golf at High Point University.

Jenkins, a 17 year old high school senior at Leesville Road High School, finished first in six tournaments in 2012.  Over the summer Jenkins captured the NC Junior and Dogwood State Junior Championship, both major junior championships conducted by the CGA.  Jenkins was also the medalist in US Junior Amateur Sectional Qualifying where he advanced to match play at the championship proper and finished tied for 33rd.  Jenkins finished the year with a tournament stroke average of 70.82, the lowest of over 410 junior golfers in North Carolina.  Jenkins has signed to play college golf at UNC-Greensboro.

The Player of the Year awards were determined by a combination of each player’s tournament scoring differential and the total points earned in the TYGA NC rankings events from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

These outstanding juniors, along with the 2012 N.C. All-State Girls’ and Boys’ teams, will be honored at the N.C. Junior Golf Night Awards Banquet on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines, NC.

About the Tarheel Youth Golf Association…

The Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA), a division of the Carolinas Golf Association, a 501(c)3 organization, is dedicated to providing educational programs and playing events for its members.  TYGA is committed to establishing relationships and coordinating with junior golf organizations to act as an information clearinghouse for all North Carolina junior golf opportunities and assist those organizations in the promotion of junior golf in North Carolina.