2003 GSGA Players of the Year Recognized
Harman's Outstanding Season Earns Him the Tommy Barnes Award

Brian Harman of Savannah was named the winner of the Georgia State Golf Association's 2003 Tommy Barnes Award, which signifies the GSGA's overall player of the year. Harman, who won his second-straight Georgia Junior Championship and the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship this year, was a heavy favorite to win the award, which is selected by the GSGA Championship Committee and revealed at the GSGA's annual awards luncheon.

Harman, now 17, is only the second Georgian to win both the state and national titles in the same year. Bill Ploeger of Columbus, who received the Barnes award in 2002 and 1999, won the 1999 Georgia Senior and USGA Senior Amateur Championships.

At the Georgia Junior in mid June, Harman led from wire-to-wire and won by five strokes. He was equally dominating at the U.S. Junior in late July, where he advanced through five rounds of match play, before dismissing Jordan Cox of Redwood, Calif., 5 and 4 - the largest margin of victory in the finals in 22 years.

Harman, representing Georgia for the third year in a row, went 1-0-1 at the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge Match, giving him the most wins in the competition's 28-year history with five.

Harman, who won the 2002 Georgia Junior by six and advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2002 U.S. Junior, took his game to an even higher level in the 2003 season, starting with a win at the American Junior Golf Association's Thunderbird International Junior in May and, two weeks later, another victory at the Chrysler AJGA Boys' Invitational. Ranked number one in the nation by Golf Week from mid-June forward, Harman also finished second in the AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions in July and earned their Boys Junior Player of the Year honors. Harman topped off the year with a record third AJGA major, winning the Polo Golf Classic, a match play event held in November.

Harman was also presented with his second-straight GSGA Junior Player of the Year Award at the luncheon held at Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta. Harman, whose first competitive experience came at a GSGA Junior Sectional event in 1998, where he won the 11 and under division by seven strokes with a two-under 34, thanked the GSGA during his acceptance speech, stating "I'll never forget what the Georgia State Golf Association has done for me and I'll always support your competitions."

Men's Player of the Year: David Noll, Jr., Dalton
The GSGA also announced its 2003 Players of the Year Award winners. Georgia Amateur champion David Noll, Jr. of Dalton took home the honors as Men's Player of the Year. Noll experienced a breakout year in 2003, highlighted by a one-stroke victory at the Georgia Amateur Championship. Noll, a former mini-tour player reinstated just two years ago, added to his amateur record with a strong performance at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he knocked off U.S. Walker Cup team member Trip Kuehne and advanced to the third round of match play. Noll, who shared medalist honors in Mid-Amateur qualifying, advanced to U.S. Open Sectional qualifying for the second-straight year. Noll finished seventh, just missing out on an alternate spot.

Women's Player of the Year: Laura Coble, Augusta
In 2003, Laura Coble of Augusta continued her reign as the most dominating female player in the state with her sixth consecutive points title. Coble more than doubled the total of her nearest competitor, Darlene Werhnyak of Lawrenceville. Coble captured both the Georgia Women's Match Play and the Georgia Women's Golf Association Amateur Championships. Coble's match play win was her third-straight and fourth overall. She won her second GWGA championship running away, building a 19-stroke total advantage on the strength of a second-round, six-under 66. Coble finished as runner-up at the Greater Atlanta Women's Amateur Championship, where she lost in a playoff. Her year also included a fifth-place finish at the Georgia Women's Top 60 Classic and she qualified for the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur.

Girls' Player of the Year: Vicki Yi, Athens
Vicki Yi of Athens picked up her second Girls' title in three years. Yi, 15, earned her second Girls' Player of the Year Award on the strength of her first-place finish at the Georgia Girls' Championship, where she won by a stroke. Yi secured the award with a second-place finish at the Georgia PGA Junior Championship, an event she won in 2001. Sarah Donald, also of Athens, finished a close second after a strong season where she tied for third at the Georgia Girls' Championship and won the Georgia PGA Junior. Yi was Girls' Player of the Year in 2001.

Senior Men's Player of the Year: Spencer Sappington, Alpharetta
Spencer Sappington of Alpharetta wins his first Senior Men's title. Sappington, who won the Georgia Senior Championship by one stroke, earned Senior Player of the Year honors for the first time, edging four-time winner Bill Ploeger. Sappington, a nationally ranked senior amateur, had finished in the top five at the state senior championship each of the past two years before breaking through in 2003. Sappington earned crucial points by advancing to match play at the USGA Senior Amateur. Sappington also finished fourth with Ploeger at the Georgia Senior Four Ball.

Senior Women's Player of the Year: Claudeen Lindberg, Atlanta
Claudeen Lindberg of Atlanta clinched her first Senior Women's Player of the Year Award by winning her second GSGA Senior Women's Championship and advancing to match play at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur. Lindberg won the championship in a sudden-death playoff. Werhnyak finished second in this category as well, just 40 points back.

The awards were determined by a point system based on performance in GSGA and USGA events, among other amateur competitions. Winners were recognized at the GSGA Players of the Year Luncheon on January 17, 2004, at Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta, immediately following the GSGA Annual Meeting.