2022 Junior Tour Player of the Year Winners-
Riverside, Iowa – The Iowa PGA Junior Tour Player of the Year point totals continued for 2022 in a “best of” approach; points are earned by a player in the top 15 tournaments that he or she participated in. At the conclusion of the season, the player with the most points acquired in their division is awarded this title. The age divisions included are: Boys 11 & Under, Boys 12-13, Boys 14-15, Boys 16-18, Girls 13 & Under, Girls 14-15, Girls 16-18.
Events are categorized in four groups: Major, Ace, Eagle, and Birdie. Major Point events are worth the most amount of points, then Ace, Eagle, then Birdie. New in 2022, bonus points were added to the junior’s total if they won a Major for the boys 14-18 and girls 14-18. The 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Tour Player of the Year award recipients will be honored at the All-Star Pro Golf Awards Luncheon that will be held on Tuesday, November 15 at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort.
The Iowa PGA would like to continue to thank our PGA Professionals and course hosts for supporting our programs. We have over 80 facilities host annually, and we cannot do what we do without their support!
The Iowa PGA would also like to continue to thank our Tour sponsors, Junior Golf Hub, Shattuck St. Mary’s, Camelbak, Bushnell, ECO Lips and Bug Soother.
Boys 16-18
Owen Sawyer of Cedar Falls, Iowa won the 2022 Iowa Junior Boys 16-18 Player of the Year Award accumulating 2,830 Player of the Year points. Sawyer competed in 3 events this season. All the events he competed in he finished in first place and were Majors so he also accrued bonus points. Sawyer was victorious in Iowa PGA Spring Junior Open hosted by Coldwater Golf Links and Ames Golf & Country Club, the 46th Iowa Boys Junior PGA Championship & Qualifier hosted by Gates Park Golf Course and the John Deere Classic Junior hosted by TPC Deere Run.
Boys 14-15
Braeden Nelson of West Des Moines, Iowa is this year’s 2022 Iowa Junior Boys 14-15 Player of the Year Award with 4,670 Player of the Year points. Nelson competed in 13 events this season. He had 13 top 3 finishes on the Iowa PGA Junior Tour this season, including five first place finishes. Nelson was victorious in 46th Iowa Boys Junior PGA Championship & Qualifier hosted by Gates Park Golf Course, the 2022 Iowa Junior Boys/Girls Amateur Championship hosted by Finkbine Golf Course, the Cedar Valley Junior Tour Championship hosted by Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, the Junior Tour Mid-Summer Classic hosted by Briarwood Golf Club and Otter Creek Golf Course and the Iowa Junior Open hosted by Blue Top Ridge. He was also the Boys 12-13 Player of the Year in 2021.
Boys 12-13
Lucas Laffoon of Johnston, Iowa is this year’s 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Boys 12-13 Player of the Year. He finished the 2022 season with a total of 4,926.67 Player of the Year points. Laffoon played in 15 events this season, finishing inside the top 4 at each event. Laffoon won 7 events in 2022. He was victorious at the Iowa PGA Spring Junior Open hosted by Coldwater Golf Links and Ames Golf & Country Club, the Iowa PGA Junior Spring Series hosted by Westwood Golf Course, the Optimist Junior Qualifier hosted by Elmwood Country Club, the John Deere Classic Junior Open hosted by TPC Deere Run, the Cedar Valley Junior Tour Championship hosted by Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, the Western Iowa Junior hosted by Lakeside Municipal Golf Course and the Iowa PGA Cedar Rapids Junior hosted by Gardner Golf Course. He was also the Boys 11 & Under Player of the Year in 2020.
Boys 11 & Under
Harrison Hartke of Cedar Rapids, Iowa played in 15 events, resulting in 4,370 Player of the Year points, to win the 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Boys 11 & under Player of the Year award. Hartke won 8 events in this division. Some of his victories included the Iowa PGA Spring Junior Open hosted by Coldwater Golf Links and Ames Golf & Country Club, the Iowa PGA Junior Spring Series hosted by Westwood Golf Course, the Iowa PGA Junior Spring Series hosted by Muscatine Municipal Golf Course, the Iowa PGA Prairie Links Junior hosted by Prairie Links Golf Course, the Greater Cedar Rapids Junior hosted by Hunters Ridge Golf Club, the Southeast Iowa Junior hosted by The Preserve on Rathbun Lake, the Iowa PGA Cedar Rapids Junior hosted by Gardner Golf Course and the Iowa City Junior hosted by Finkbine Golf Course.
Girls 16-18
Lauren Briggs of Burlington, Iowa won the 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Girls 16-18 Player of the Year with 2,870 Player of the Year points. Briggs appeared in 8 events on the Iowa PGA Junior Tour this season. She won 3 of those events. She was victorious at the Principal Charity Classic Junior Open hosted by Wakonda Club, the Galesburg Junior Open hosted by Lake Bracken Country Club and Bunker Links Golf Course and the Iowa PGA Junior at Deer Run in Indianola. She was also the Girls 13 & Under Player of the Year in 2019.
Girls 14-15
Ainsley Wilson of Iowa City, Iowa accumulated 5,045 Player of the Year points to win the 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Girls 14-15 Player of the Year award. Wilson played in 15 Iowa PGA Junior Tour events this season. She won 7 events in 2022. She was victorious at the Iowa PGA Junior Spring Series hosted by Westwood Golf Course, the John Deere Classic Junior hosted by TPC Deere Run, the Iowa PGA Prairie Links Junior hosted by Prairie Links Golf Course, the Iowa City Junior hosted by Brown Deer Golf Club, the Iowa PGA Junior at Deer Run in Indianola, the Iowa PGA Junior Fall Series hosted by Terrace Hills Golf Course and the Iowa PGA Junior Tour Fall Classic hosted by Thunder Hills Country Club.
Girls 13 & Under
Jaylee Shaffer of Ellston, Iowa won the 2022 Iowa PGA Junior Girls 13 & Under Player of the Year with 4,420 Player of the Year points. Shaffer appeared in 12 events on the Iowa PGA Junior Tour this season. She won 10 events in 2022. A few of her victories included the Iowa PGA Spring Junior Open hosted by Coldwater Golf Links and Ames Golf & Country Club, the John Deere Classic Junior Open hosted by TPC Deere Run, the Jerry Smith Junior Tour Summer Kickoff hosted by Edmundson Golf Course, the 46th Iowa Girls Junior PGA Championship & Qualifier hosted by Ellis Park Golf Course, the Iowa PGA Junior Championship hosted by A.H. Blank Golf Course, the Western Iowa Junior hosted by Lakeside Municipal Golf Course and the Iowa Junior Open hosted by Blue Top Ridge.
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