Introducing the 2021 Carolinas Players of the Year

 

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (February 4, 2022) -- The CGA is proud to announce the 2021 recipients of the Richard S. Tufts Players of the Year Awards. These seven golfers have excelled in their field and had the most successful year in amateur golf at a local, regional, state and national level.

 

Related: Past Champions

 

2021 Richard S. Tufts Award Winners

Junior Girls': Macy Pate - Winston-Salem, N.C.

Junior Boys': Caleb Surratt - Matthews, N.C.

Women's: Jensen Castle - West Columbia, S.C.

Men's: Matthew Sharpstene - Charlotte, N.C.     

Senior Women's: Jayne Pardus - Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Senior Men's: Eddie Hargett - Blythewood, S.C.

Super Senior Men's: Paul Simson - Raleigh, N.C.

 

2021 Richard S. Tufts Award Winners

Carolinas Junior Girls' Player of the Year

Macy Pate of Winston-Salem, N.C. had a year to remember on the Carolinas junior golf circuit. In 33 events on her 2021 calendar, Pate collected eight victories, including titles at both the Carolinas Junior Girls’ and North Carolina Junior Girls’ Championships. What may be the most astounding fact of her historic campaign, is the feat of finishing within the top-10 in 29 out of 33 tournaments. Pate was also a member of the victorious Carolinas team at the Mid-Atlantic Junior Girls Challenge Matches.

The high school sophomore made waves nationally, after shooting a 14-under-par, 57 at the Central Piedmont 4A Conference Championship for Reagan High School.

 

Carolinas Junior Boys' Player of the Year

Caleb Surratt of Matthews, N.C. tore up the junior boys circuit in 2021.  He collected four wins and raised eyebrows in national events. Surratt made a deep run to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Country Club of North Carolina this past summer. He was victorious in the PGA Junior Boys’ Championship, with rounds of 69, 67, 62 and 70 to win by three shots. He also had the honor of being named to the 2021 United States Junior Ryder Cup team.

Surratt is headed to the University of Tennessee this fall to continue his education and golf career. 

 

Carolinas Women's Player of the Year

Jensen Castle of West Columbia, S.C. had what can only be described as an astounding year. The University of Kentucky junior survived a 12-for-2 playoff to qualify for Match Play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which she then parlayed into a magnificent run to the Finals. She secured a 2 & 1 victory in the 36-hole final and became the first 63rd seed to ever hoist the Robert Cox Trophy.

Castle’s victory booked her a spot on the 2021 Curtis Cup team as well, where she collected two points en route to a 12.5 to 7.5 victory for Team USA. Her year was capped off with a win at the Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball with partner Rachel Kuehn which helped claim her seat at the top of the Carolinas Women’s Rankings. 

 

Carolinas Men's Player of the Year

Matthew Sharpstene of Charlotte, N.C. only built upon the momentum he gained from being a U.S. Amateur Semifinalist in 2020. Sharpstene again made a deep run in the U.S. Amateur in 2021, making the Quarterfinals to follow up qualifying for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. A top-10 finish at the Southern Amateur, a tie for fifth at the South Beach International, and a third place finish at the 107th Carolinas Amateur Championship sealed a fantastic 2021 campaign for the University of Charlotte Senior. 

 

Carolinas Senior Women's Player of the Year

Jayne Pardus of Mount Pleasant, S.C. is further cementing her place in Carolinas Golf history, as 2021 marks the third consecutive year she has earned the Carolinas Senior Women’s Player of the Year honor.

Pardus’ 2021 season was one for the books, including victories at the Carolinas Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and the WSCGA Senior Amateur Championship. Pardus was a key member on the winning Carolinas team at the 64th Virginias-Carolinas Women’s Team Matches. A fourth place finish at the North and South Senior Women’s, a tie for sixth at the South Carolina Senior Women’s Open and a run to the Round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur left an exclamation point on an impressive 2021.

 

Carolinas Senior Men's Player of the Year

Eddie Hargett of Blythewood, S.C. put together a great 2021 season. Hargett’s year included success at the State and National level with seven total top-10 finishes. 

Hargett collected a third place finish at the SCGA South Carolina Senior Championship, a second place finish at the 60th Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship, and impressed at the U.S. Senior Amateur, making a run in Match Play to the Round of 16. Hargett was also named to the victorious 2021 Carolinas Captain’s Putter Team.

 

Carolinas Super Senior Men's Player of the Year

Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. adds to his already full trophy cabinet with his second Super Senior Men’s Player of the Year title. Overall, Simson has earned an astounding 15 Player of the Year honors across three separate divisions and is the winningest player in CGA history, with 44 championship titles. 

In 2021, Simson did what he’s accustomed to doing, win. Four times in the past year he finished at the top of a leaderboard, collecting victories in the North Carolina Senior Championship, the North Carolina Super Senior Championship, the Society of Seniors National Super Senior Championship, and the North Carolina Super Senior Four-Ball. Simson also qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur and was a member of the winning 2021 Carolinas Captains Putter Team.

 

About the Richard S. Tufts Awards

The Richard S. Tufts Awards were created in 1997 to honor the Carolinas amateur golfers who had exceptional individual tournament performances over the preceding year. Tufts served on the CGA Executive Committee from 1926 to 1964 and served as President from 1931 through 1933. The awards are given to the top golfer based on the CGA amateur rankings at the end of the calendar year in five of seven categories: Women's, Men's, Senior Women's, Senior Men’s and Super Senior Men's. The Senior Men's and Senior Women's categories were implemented in 2001, while the Super Senior Men's award was created in 2017.

The Junior Girls' and Junior Boys’ awards, started in 2003, are based on a series of tournaments run by associations that are the grassroots of junior golf in the Carolinas. Participating Carolinas associations and tournaments are the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA), Carolinas PGA (CPGA), Trusted Choice Big I Junior Classics, South Carolina Golf Association (SCGA), Women's South Carolina Golf Association (WSCGA), South Carolina Junior Golf Association (SCJGA), Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA), Carolinas-Georgia Junior Championship and the Joe Cheves Junior Invitational.

Eight Carolinas Men's Players of the Year are current or former PGA Tour members while seven Carolinas Women's Players of the Year have competed on the LPGA TOUR. Notable past Tufts award winners include: Jonathan Byrd (1999, PGA Tour), Beth Bauer (1999, LPGA), D.J. Trahan (2000-2002, PGA Tour), Marcy Newton Hart (2000, LPGA), Brandi Jackson (2002, LPGA), Bill Haas (2003, PGA Tour), Webb Simpson (2006, PGA Tour), Dustin Johnson (2007, PGA Tour), Cydney Clanton (2009-10, LPGA), Mark Anderson (2009, PGA Tour), Austin Ernst (2011, LPGA), Katelyn Dambaugh (2016, LPGA), Anna Redding (2018, LPGA).

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed nearly $2,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.     

For more information about the CGA, visit our website . 

 

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